Pre-2012 Art
I have been drawing since a very young age. My mother would sit me down with crayons, paper and a Russian fairy tale on a tape cassette. This was the ultimate activity for me to not bother my mom while she worked.
When I was 3 years old, I attended some children's art classes where they taught us how to paint. One of the assignment's was a still life of a flower pot but what I painted now looks more like a head growing out of a vase. For some reason my teacher submitted my painting to a kids art show and that is how I can now boast that my art was exhibited at the wonderful Tretyakovskaya Galereya in Russia. Below is that painting. It was part of my painting stash that I bought over from Russia.
Now, I unfortunately don't get to go to the MET as often with all the responsibilities of life nowadays and going to school far away from home. But it still hold a special place in my heart. During high school, I even took an AP Studio Art class which gave me an opportunity to practice my art in school a little more. This was also the start of when I found out about urban sketchers! And that's where it all started! I was looking for inspiration for my portfolio ideas and I literally stumbled across the urban sketchers website. I didn't end up getting more involved in urban sketchers till college but I attribute that to my schedule freeing up a bit in college. College has been challenging but I feel like it's still been a piece of cake since my rigorous NYC high school. Thanks for the great preparation Bronx Science!
When I came to America, I attended various art classes from a Russian art school to classes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. These classes really helped me develop my rough art skills. But I attribute the MET to a lot of my art development during middle school and high school. Thanks to their free art classes on Saturdays for students, I was able to practice my art from the masters! It was an amazing experience to have! They even provided us with the art materials so I was able to develop my knowledge more of mediums like charcoal and graphite (no wet mediums allowed in the galleries!)
