Ukrainian Steppe Painting

I was born in 1981 in a village on the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine. My father was an artist and my mother was a kindergarten teacher. As a child I spent most of my time in my father's art studio as he was my first art teacher. One of my most colorful childhood influences was my father's volunteer works of art for the kindergarten classes. After my father's untimely death from a heart attack, I was forced to quit painting. These were harsh times in the Ukraine, as the country was in the midst of a deep economic crisis following the breakup of the Soviet Union. My mother had to find ways to sustain the family and she had neither the time, nor the resources to send me to an art school. Upon graduating from school, I tried different areas of study but did not find anything satisfying. I studied web design and programming in Dnipro Computer Academy but it didn’t feel like what I really wanted to do. Over the years, I dreamed of returning to my studies of the fine arts. In 2016, after moving to Florida, I had the chance to return to my true passion. On my acceptance as a Signature Member of the Boca Raton Art Gallery, I was able to make what it was previously a dream into the focus of my life work. Currently my artwork is on display at the Boca Raton Artists Guild Gallery. I have also had a solo exhibit at the Boca Raton Art School. My art is currently focused on two main subject areas. One is the imaginary, fictitious side of human nature. This subject is depicted in the “Dell'Arte” series of works. The other called, “Fashionable Tradition” is about modern fashion and its approach to folk costumes—the colorful, festive nature of beauty and youth as it is expressed in the unusual and magnificent folk designs from Ukrainian national heritage.