Hold On to Your Hats! Painting

I grew up in Lithuania and Russia, and my childhood was filled with trips to galleries, symphony halls and theaters. I chose Chemistry as my first profession, years later I realized that my love for formulas was the love of an artist: I was intrigued by the shapes of molecules and how they fit together into perfect designs! One day, more than 20 years ago, my son left his paints on the table and ran off to play. I picked up his brush, not knowing that it would take me on an incredible lifetime journey! Since then I have studied with well-known and recognized artists and teachers from around the world. Among them; Alvaro Castagnet, David Taylor, Cheng-Khee Chee, Frank Webb, James Toogood, Kim English and Maggie Seiner. My favorite masters are John Singer Sargent, Andrew Wyeth and Repin. I spent the last few years in Stuttgart, Germany and studied under the mentorship of Thomas Hager, who pushed me to see beyond the obvious. I admire paintings that are spontaneous and free and infuse the viewer with a feeling of what they see. I paint in all three mediums, finding watercolor to be my first love. Painting “en plein air” and capturing the moment is my favorite challenge. I teach watercolor and acrylic in both Germany and the US, sharing my passion for art and the spontaneity of the water medium. Art is my way of life! The whole experience of painting for me is extracting some meaning in the chaos that is the world around me, making it more beautiful, I hope. My art is impressionistic yet representational, but the abstract elements in subjects that inspire me to paint them. My goal is to have fun and enjoy the thrill of making marks on the surface. Every painting is also a story, the story I crate and the story of the moment it comes to life.