"Goddess Pele" Painting

When people ask how I got into art I always say that I was artistically inclined from as far back as I can remember. But I credit my grandparents for developing my interest in art. My grandfather was a pretty good self-taught artist. He was a brilliant engineer and an inventor but he always doodled on every piece of paper he could find. He was the one who bought me my first set of crayons and was always encouraging me to draw. He got sick with cancer at the relatively young age, and I didn’t get to see him often after that, but during his hospital stay he would make whimsical drawings for me. I always looked forward to getting them. My grandfather passed when I was 8, and my grandmother picked up where he left. She couldn’t draw or paint but she had great appreciation of art, and would take me to art museums and exhibitions as often as she could. Her gift for my 16th birthday was a trip to St.Petersburg (Leningrad back then) – the most amazing place on Earth if you love art. Hermitage museum alone is magnificent.

When it was time for me to choose a career I stayed on the practical side and got degree in computer science. Turned out it was a smart move on my part because I happened to move to USA in 1991 and was able to find a job in the field. My early years in USA were spent growing my roots here and starting family, so art went on the back burner. When my kids turned 2 (twins), a friend of mine introduced me to ebay, and I saw that there was a great demand for artistic clothes for kids. I am not a great seamstress but idea of appliques appealed to me, so I got a sewing machine, lots of swatches and colorful fabrics and plain denim overlalls for kids – and that’s how “Happypotamus” boutique was born. I was doing pretty good, but this side business took a lot of time, and my work area, which was in the basement looked like an explosion at the textile factory. So after almost 5 years of creating custom appliqued overalls and jeans I called it quits.

Fast forward to 2009. I was browsing Amazon website looking for books on art, and it suggested that I might like a book by Kelly Rae Roberts “Taking flight”. I guess I am the one that judges book by it’s cover (and wine by it’s label), because the artwork on the cover really appealed to me, so I bought this book. Turned out the author quit her boring office job and took a plunge as a full-time artist.