Since a very early age I have been exposed to art in many forms and shapes. I grew up in Estonia in the last days of the Soviet Union. Like many children, I was first introduced to art through my father. I loved watching my father draw. I loved it when he taught me the basics of watercolor. My father took me to see museums in Estonia, Russia, Armenia, and he gave me his large set of art books printed in Russian. My father had dreamed of becoming an artist, and even though his life took him in a different direction, art has stayed with him and enriched his life and mine.
So when the choice for a field of studies presented itself and I had to ask myself what I would like to learn, the choice was easy. And so, I am on my way to graduating from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. The academy offered the opportunity to explore different subject matter from traditional landscape paintings and still-life to portraiture.
Experimenting with different media was a major part of my experience at the Academy. It seems as if the wide exposure to art I had as a child is continued in many varied classes available at the university. I have been taught clay sculpture, charcoal in figure drawing, acrylics in mixed media work, and of course my favorite classes in oil and watercolor painting. My work reflects this variety of exposure and I intend to continue on the same path experimenting with different things.