Mirage Painting

I am a Russian artist who currently resides in Antalya, Turkey, due to life circumstances. Half of my life and artistic journey belong to my native St. Petersburg, the city of the artists' Alma Mater. The other half is dedicated to the southern Mediterranean, where I found love, spending over 10 years exploring its southern edge. I find joy in this creative journey between the North and the South, the West and the East, embracing the contrast of colors, cultures, and forms. It's my freedom and inspiration. I prefer to perceive life as a marvelous journey. As a completely northern person with a strict academic background, when I ventured south, a creative explosion occurred in my mind. The abundance of sun and light, lush nature, the dolce vita of the Mediterranean, seasoned with influences from the Middle East, ornaments, arabesques, not forgetting the ancient heritage—this multicultural environment is where I live and create, and I love it. It's an endless subject of exploration, like a serpentine road—reaching a turn, the next one is visible, and so on indefinitely, because what's beyond the turn is always intriguing. Perhaps that's why I try to encompass a variety in my art—still life, landscape, genre works, different series of paintings that vary in mood. But how can one limit spiritual exploration and passion when there's so much fascinating before the eyes? I enjoy forging my own path.I find it intriguing to intertwine the traditions of the St. Petersburg realistic school with the South—its vibrant color, energy. I feel like I'm at the crossroads of various influences. It's akin to music, where talented artists blend different genres to create something unique, like jazz. I strive to create such a mix in painting—it's all part of the endless quest for freedom and self-discovery. Primarily, I work in the canvas/oil technique, occasionally using tempera and acrylic.