GALLERY

Seeking the impossible

Art cannot completely change a person's life. What it can do, just like music, is fine-tune some of our brain centers which are overheated by stress. It can enlighten us with ideas. It can help us overcome obsessive thoughts and take a brave, hopeful path.

With this painting, I want to show that humanity is moving from bright to dark periods, but it has always survived because of a belief that light and good will prevail. If one is currently alone in the twilight, they must know that somewhere in time and space there is light and a special someone waiting to appear. But they have to believe that it is possible and become their best self in order to be ready for this meeting.

46 x 55 cm, created: 2007

Medium: Acrylic on fiberboard

Techniques: Structural gel and mortar, shuttering, multilayer technique

Styles: Cubism, Fauvism

Tourmaline

I believe that everything is relative and everything is possible in the infinite universe, even the impossible. Things can function in our minds even if they can’t in reality. I don’t believe in alien life but in this painting I imagine an alien civilization taking a human invention and making it in their own way, using their highly advanced technology.

For the background, I used oil-based paint. I created the embossed parts by applying multiple layers of painter's tape to build a matrix for the specific shape that I wanted to make. I then applied structural gel mixed with different elements of nature such as ground bricks, sand, glass, turmeric, and black pepper. Instead of painting I used a stratification process using a shuttering technique. I designed the form with the tape, filled it with gel gloss, and once it dried up, I removed the masking tape and the form was created. It is a very time-consuming process but certainly worth the effort—the end result is a very unusual three-dimensional painting that appears life-like.

48 x 37 cm , created 2007

Mixed media: acrylic and oil on fiberboard (cardboard, canvas)

Techniques: structural gel and mortar

Style: Surrealism

Troubadour

Andromeda

Due to the rapid technological advances of the internet, it has become clear that ''creativity'' is being stripped away from people. The music industry is one such example. I remember the time when vinyl records were the mainstream form of media. I was so excited to go to the music store and buy the newest record, full of joy and anticipation to listen to it. We appreciated every single piece of media we owned, and listened to all the fine details that were present in the track. Today there are millions of songs available to us at a moment’s notice so our appreciation and attention span decreases. One simply doesn’t have the attention span to listen to an 11-minute musical composition and build a story behind it.

With this painting, I want to bring back an appreciation for music and point out how music is a universal language that connects us, without historical or geographical barriers.

I used a collage technique to create the painting. The various fragments of it symbolize the musical styles of the world.

pirate’s hat - Caribbean music

stained glass - church music

mask - opera, operetta (musical), theater

clothes - the music of medieval troubadours from the ninth to the thirteenth century

guitar - disco, house, rock, electronic music

puppy - country, cinematic music (movie soundtracks)

40 x 50 cm, 48 x 58 cm (framed), created: 2018 Media: Acrylic on fiberboard, collage

Techniques: structural gel and mortar, paints for stained glass, multilayer technique

Style: Surrealism, Symbolism

This is one of those paintings that came into being spontaneously without my intention. I had some excess paints remaining on the palette of my cardboard and applied them to the canvas. I sanded the top coat several times and utilized the excess paint again. I put it away and, after a while, I went back to it and sprayed it with several coats of varnish. Only then did I examine it carefully and it seemed like I was looking at an image of a distant galaxy taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Through my magnifying glass it appeared like a cosmic fractal where an infinite number of bright nebulas could be seen to the depths. Maybe that's what black holes in space look like, their colorless event horizons surrounded by a multitude of infinite colors.

47 x 37 cm, created: 2017

Medium: Acrylic on fiberboard

Techniques: Structural gel and mortar, paint for

stained glass, multilayer technique, pilling

Styles: Surrealism, Fauvism

Albatross

This is one of my favorite paintings. The calmness of the sea, the blue color... the entire painting is full with feelings of serenity and freedom.

It is the contrast to the great physical and mental strain I endured in the army; my body producing serotonin, endorphin, and tryptophan in response to the stress, which created the ''calming state of mind'' you see in this painting.

I dedicated this painting to my wife Kremena. She is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me. It is so nice to have someone who understands you and to whom you can give a rose to every day.

42 x 57 cm, 35 x 50 cm, created: 2015

Medium: Acrylic on fiberboard

Techniques: structural gel and mortar, multilayer

technique, pilling

Style: Surrealism

Spring Impression

In this painting, I depict spring, which for me means the renewal of nature and the end of winter. Mixing warm reds and cool blues created a precious purple, which for me represents nobility and sophistication. I added other colors reminiscent of spring: yellow, orange, and green, carefully balancing and superimposing them using the qualities of modern paints (opaque, semi-opaque, translucent, transparent) to create shades that can be found in abundance in nature, which is infinitely diverse. I aimed to create a composition that radiates joy and hope, helping to purify ourselves from all the negativity in our lives, and from physical and mental strain.

This painting is my model for finding happiness—we can find it when we merge with nature and realize that we are just a little spark in time.

55 x 46 cm, 63 x 54 cm (framed), created: 2018 Medium: Acrylic on fiberboard

Techniques: structural gel and mortar, paint for stained glass, multilayer technique

Style: Abstract Impressionism

The Pear

I created this painting during my vacation in Asprovalta, Greece. It is a village on the Mediterranean coast with no big hotels, just single-family homes, many taverns, and good food. There I was taken back to my childhood. I went into the dreams of the kid I once was and then surfaced back into reality to revive those memories and make them vivid once again. It was an unforgettable adventure. Perhaps this painting can help children suffering from various causes by making them smile, giving them hope for a better life, and helping them understand that dreams can become reality if you turn them into goals.

Aquamarine

Art is a form of expression. More often than not, artists use their creations to evoke certain beliefs. It is an incredible tool that allows one to bring positivity to the world. With this painting, I want to encourage an artistic look at life. I may not be able to change the world, but I can change some people's lives for the better by sharing how creating visual art has helped me deal with difficulties. Keeping a sense of humor played a significant part in this process—I wanted to create something funny and pleasant. I let my imagination fly and it created one of those objects that cannot function in real life but is so vividly possible in our mind.

30 x 21 cm, 55 x 46 cm (framed), created: 2015 Medium: Acrylic on fiberboard

Techniques: structural gel and mortar, paint for stained glass, multilayer technique, pilling.

Style: Surrealism

Apples

We all have many layers connected to our personalities. Every single person is unique and special. On the outside is the face layer, visible to everyone. But start to dig deeper and you will discover a nearly infinite array of different emotions and feelings that are hidden from the outside world, tucked away in our conscious and subconscious minds. Only through friendship, trust, intimacy, or severe circumstances are these layers revealed to us in their true colors. I'd like to think that every single person is good in their heart, because in that core lies the almost forgotten child that is still ever so slightly present, urging us to do the right things in life and to enjoy it as best as you possibly can in this difficult and complex world, filled with both beauty and despair.

44 x 35 cm, 35 x 25 cm, created: 2016, 2017, 2019

Medium: Acrylic on fiberboard

Techniques: structural gel and mortar, paint for stained glass, multilayer technique, pilling

Style: Surrealism