From Russia With Love… to Art

Hi, I’m a self-taught artist, a mental wellness advocate, and an environmental enthusiast. I was born in Moscow in the mid-80s where I lived and worked until moving to San Diego, CA in 2015.

While painting and drawing since early childhood, I only began pursuing a career as a professional artist in 2018 when I decided to join San Dieguito Art Guild in North County San Diego.

I work with a number of media with a particular affinity for acrylic painting and mixed media collages. My work varies from pure abstract to quite representational, but always with a spin of symbolism and surrealistic influences.

Art as a form of sanity

Are we truly free to express ourselves? Being stuck in the search of my authentic self (like most of us), I found that it’s easier to express the collective than the personal, whether it’s a reaction to social and political events, or producing art that sells.

We are chasing the idea of being accepted, being a part of something we do not control rather than being ourselves. And what does it mean “being ourselves?” What would we create if we were free of fear, imposter syndrome, and social pressure?

It took me years and years studying psychology, yoga and mindfulness practice, and of course therapy to realize that what I have inside is worth being expressed.

Where there are no words, come images. Where there are no sounds, come colors. I combine emotions with ideas in the hope that they will resonate with someone. If this is not the right way to connect with fellow human beings, then what is?