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Art gallery
Putin and the Rose My employers at the Institute I work in commissioned me an official portrait of Vladimir Putin. They appropriated funds for "Institute's Wall Newspaper". So I bought paint, canvas, stretcher and whatever I needed to perform this important task. Moreover, I was painting in my labour hours, instead of doing my primary work. Now the President's portrait stands out in the office of the vice director.
Morning.
One of my friends - Sasha Korolev (who used to play guitar in Amontillado) worked in the Lenin museum. There he fetched a photo. He told me about the Finnish Revolution Government that wanted to establish Communism in Finland. They were working in St. Petersburg in order to be safe. Then one day in 1922 all of them were found shot. Eight men and one lady. A police officer made the picture of the bodies. I painted a copy of that picture. That was the first and the last time I performed photo-realist style deliberately.
17 Literatorov St. The quality is poor. Sorry, that shows what a dick of a photographer I am. I'll try to explain anyway. So, this is a real house standing in a real street. An elephant-guy slipped on the sidewalk and got scaried the dragonfly-lady and her kid. The scene is being witnessed by a girl on the balcony and a cat-boy around the corner. After spending a year on this piece, I finally looked at it to begin suspecting myself in becoming a surrealist artist. No I'm NOT!!! And never been!
The Cave There is a house not far from where I live. If you enter the arch you'll appear instantly in ruins in another part of the city. This seems to be the only place in St. Petersburg where natural teleportation actually works.
Good Dog A one fo my American flashbacks. This scene is the first to come to my mind when I recollect my visiting WV. The dog's name was Kim, she belonged to the family I was staying with. Weird, but it took me several months after the piece was finished to figure out the dog's legs and shade form a $-sign. Hallo from America!
Dancing Reptiles.
It is not at all an imitation of Matiss. I was sitting with some girl in a park near the Karpovka River, drinking beer and stuff. In front of me was a public toilet. The wall was too uneven. Stains of filling and plaster were tangled in mysterious ornaments. To me it looked like three dragons dancing together. Soon I made the painting, which is in fact not what you think it may be but a public toilet wall.
Capricorn.
This one's not finished. I hope it never will be. It was just that I was experiencing the most tough period in my life and let all my black emotions flood the canvas. Wishing to let go of the burden. The white hound symbolizes Death. I was inspired by my neighbors' dog - white, big and beautiful on the snow. I thought if I'll ever see the Death, it would look exactly this way. The painting stands in my bedroom now facing the wall.
Reconciliation This one is about real characters, though the situation is imaginary. It's like my friend Lenotchka had an argument with a dog. Now they made it up and are hugging neverminding the mess around. I'm myself standing in the door. The paintings on the wall are copies of Gustav Klimt: A lady wearing a feather boa and "Idilliae"
I hate having photos as models. It's too easy and usatisfying stuff. But I couldn't reject my mom's desire to reconstract an old family picture either. So, here we are: my mom and myself (about four years old)
This was one of my earliest experiences with oils, I guess. Egor (who I'd organized the Amontillado band with) took me to a roof over the Fontanka river. We got a container of beer and spent the whole day there. Got awfully burnt in the sun. After the painting/drinking session we took a prom on the rooffs. I tell you, there were places where we had to walk along a rail hanging 6-7 floors above the ground! I didn't WALK, I crowled.
Family Portrait Here's a sketch for a one unhappy portrait. The family that had commissioned it were stingy of buying a grounded canvas. They had some students to prepare the canvas. The students got plastered drunk and forgot to actually ground it (gee!). So the painting started to peel off in a month or something! Moreover, the family didn't like the result (how I painted them) either. As far as I know, they keep it in some place where the sun don't ever shine. And the lady's face is smeared with toothpaste.
Witnessing the wonder
This one was influenced by the Gustav Meirink's books. The idea is that some adept of alchemy is making the river bottom reveal its treasures. The kids see it happening, although neither of them is aware of the wisard's secret presence. The boys, meanwhile, symbolize different phases of Moon. Crazy RE-PULSE stuff.
Probably one of the hardest pieces for me to write a comment on. A weird thing about this one is that almost everybody I show it to seem to recognize the girl. They say: "Hey, I know her!" And each time they mean a different persone.
Krestovsky Island Sorry for the poor quality. This piece belongs to Anton (our bassist) and it is how he shot it. It is one of the few landscapes I've ever painted.
Family Portrait Here's a sketch for a one unhappy portrait. The family that had commissioned it were stingy of buying a grounded canvas. They had some students to prepare the canvas. The students got plastered drunk and forgot to actually ground it (gee!). So the painting started to peel off in a month or something! Moreover, the family didn't like the result (how I painted them) either. As far as I know, they keep it in some place where the sun don't ever shine. And the lady's face is smeared with toothpaste.
