Valery Filipov

Medium: Photography

As a kid, I loved to draw and paint faces. The emotions and the characters written on them , fascinated me greatly. When time came to pick the vocation, I was put before the choice to study for an artist or a photographer. The crafty cameras and more defined job description led me to Photography.

I formally studied photography at Leningrad (Soviet Union) photography school in early 80s. In my photo studio back in my country, I was doing portrait photography and I loved it. That was my business. Since then I did many other things and worked at many other jobs. But the passion for portraits was still there. I loved to draw and paint portraits for fun.

I attended a local art school (Gene Prokop Pro’s Art School in Edmonton, Alberta) to learn and practice the oil painting technics. Participated in all sorts of exhibitions and sold some of my paintings.

The Idea to paint the portraits of classical writers came to me as I liked to share the goodness of the timeless stories that inspire and teach us to live our lives well. I portray character, experience or emotion that moved me while reading the stories written by the writers or about them. If these inspired me, for sure there are other people in the world, who are inspired by the same characters.

The medium is oil on canvas that is the choice of the old masters, classical in the sense, made perfect for me to use for portraits of a classical writer or a composer. The paintings were done from the old black and white photographs and were kept in monotone colors, to preserve the feel of the time. This is more of a sketch or an impression that was inspired by the author’s writings or music. The powerful and careless brush strokes in the hair and clothing contrasted by the smooth and precise brush work in the face creates that feel of natural chaos and harmony at the same time.

For more information or to contact this artist for a commission, please contact [email protected].