Interview For InnerTraveler www.InnerTraveler.com Interview was published September 6th, 2006 Published Version is Here

Photo of September AOM August 17, 2006

Speaking of traditional art, my favourite mediums are pencils, charcoal and ink. Working with them is not easy and it takes a lot of time to finish the drawing, but allows achieving interesting and unusual results. I used to do hundreds of pencil works when I was an art student, later I painted in oils, watercolours and pastels. I tried different mediums because of my endless curiosity and thriving for excellence. For now, I am settled with pencils, charcoals and ink as I said. Who knows, maybe in the future I will move to something else.
My digital works are created mostly with WACOM tablet accompanying with Adobe Photoshop. I often use photos that I make myself - photography is another old love of mine. Digital manipulation with photos is a very exciting and productive technique and I am quite hooked on it at the moment.

I am afraid that boundaries of this interview are not enough to declare all of them. If you don't mind I can write a separate article about it. But here I have to restrict myself to only two of them: my teacher, Yuri Gusev and British artist Harold Hitchcock. My teacher, apart from the fact that I owe him more than words can convey, is an outstanding master of landscape painting. He has an eye for composition and detail that hardly can be matched. To see a scene of nature and to transfer it to canvas so it looks as much alive as in reality with skilful use of light is as easy for him as breathing. Works of Harold Hitchcock are an inexhaustible source of inspiration and ideas for me. Born in 1914, he is the last of great Romantic painters still alive and actively working. He is not as widely known as some other artists, but his unique paintings, complex and multi layered like most complicated digital works and full of fantasy and beauty like an old fairytale never fail to impress me.

Yes, I am definitely, or more likely indefinitely, searching for the elusive Holy Grail of perfection, for the style, technique, medium that will allow me to express myself better, to transform my inner vision and feelings into art with more power and clarity. For me art is life and life never stops changing, giving us new inspirations, emotions and challenges.

It is easier for me to say, which colours are not my favourite. I am an artist and I am used to see full palette and all colours on it. However each colour has its destiny and purpose. Each of them is valuable and unique. I especially like a colour transformation when you are mixing up two colours and receive another. Paradoxically, my least favourite colour is black, because it cannot be mixed with any other- it simply absorbs any colour it is mixed with. Nevertheless, I often work in black and white, the effects produced by their contrast are breathtaking. Favourite colours are probably violet and dark blue, colours that symbolize highest harmony in some philosophy systems.

You know I have to admit that I am not a carnivore. I love fresh handmade dishes. I do not like fast food (I could say I hate it). My favourite foods are fish, seafood, olives and different types of salads. I tasted a lot of types of alcohol beverages and now I prefer wine, red or white depending on food it goes with.

Music gives me a lot of inspiration and healing power for my soul and mind. I am utterly fond of New Age Music, Ethnic and varied Instrumental music. I still abide by music like this. I have a huge collection of music so I can find essential music for any kind of mood.

While I was reading this question I had recalled in my memory a quotation from Vincent Van Gough: "The best way to know life is to love many things" I do not really know if I have hobbies now because when you have a lot of responsibilities in your life, your own life is always stayed aside. I love several things, which treat me well in emotional aspect. I am keen on reading. I equally like to read myths, legends, fairy tales, fantasy stories, historical books and art folios. I get my inspiration and ideas in books. Books are source of endless knowledge. Moreover since I live in America I defined a good tradition before a Halloween. This tradition consists in rereading one of my favourite books of Roger Zelazny's "A Night In The Lonesome October". I think this book fits absolutely well for all ages. I usually start to go over the pages exactly on October 1st and finish it October 31st. To a word October is my favourite month of autumn season. I love not only reading I love also collecting books especially rare editions. For example, I am like a hunger hunting for rare and antique art books about Romantic Painters from over the world for renewing my collection of art books. This June I have bought a very old edition of English Romantic Painter Harold Hitchcock "A Romantic Symbol In Surrealism". I was very happy because since that time when first edition of this book was published it never was reprinted again. There are a lot of regrets because this book has a lot of interesting material about Painter and about Romantic Symbolism. My other points of interest include travelling, seeing new places and playing piano.

Frankly, I have no permanent pet. They say that animals especially cats are capable to see human's souls. No one knows exactly if it true or not. Lately so many cats were in ordinary guests in my house. I do not actually know what is exactly pulling them but I have to admit it happens fairly often. I tell you that all these animals had their keepers but nevertheless they wanted staying with my family and me. I have never thought of stealing one of them. I merely took a good care of them. For example, latest my guest lived with us half year. Her name was Kitty and she loved to contemplate my art. You can find some photos of her on my own web site in a part about me. Right now I have no Kitty anymore because her keepers had moved out of town. So I am drawing a breath and I am waiting for my next guest.

I would prefer flying for many reasons. Ability to fly could give vast observation of our World and consequently it could give enormous inspiration and power to keep creating an art. Sensations of flying for me are equal to my sensation of inspiration. For me inspiration means a sensation of inner soaring. Without this sensation, I cannot create my art. This is an emotional state when you cannot feel your physical body but only your feelings and mind. It is hard to explain because this condition of spirit and it is a very special modus visu. Inner soaring is my modus vivendi in art. Summing all my words above if I could fly in a real life I would receive much more inspiration than without this wonderful gift.