Born of the beauty of the moment, imbued with the joy and pleasure of the communion with nature and awe of the elements, nostalgia for times long gone by, sadness born of alienation in the big city, sensibility of the manifestations of the human soul. That is how the paintings by Bulgarian-born artist Velina Ivanova who lives and works in Spain could be described. When and how did the young lady realize she wanted to be an artist?

“It was as if fate chose me. My parents tell me that I picked up the brush when I was very little. I painted my first self portrait when I was 4 and hadn’t learnt to write yet. After that I was constantly painting in my father’s studio – he was a landscape architect. He is the person who first got me interested in art. Then I graduated the school of fine arts in Troyan, and after that – Veliko Turnovo University. An important role in my development as an artist was played by my teachers – artists Motko Boumov and Gerogi Staykov who taught me so much even before I started at the university.”

At the age of 22 Velina left for Spain on a scholarship and studied at the renowned art school Chinchon. The two different cultures influenced her development as an artist. In Bulgaria she mastered the alla prima painting technique (at first attempt or wet-on-wet). In Spain she started applying another technique – veladura (a semi-transparent layer of paint on top of the principal layer). For a certain time her chosen style was realism, bordering on the abstract and surrealism. She uses oils, water colours, ink and plume.

“Artists usually focus on one single technique. But I have been working in four and that is very important to me. To my mind they supplement each other and give me an impetus as an artist.”

Landscapes and urbanscapes, portraits of people and animals and conceptual painting – Velina’s artistic scope is very broad.

“I am inspired in my work by beauty, by everything with an aura,” says Velina. “Portrait painting is very important to me as they convey the aura of the human soul. It is seen in the eyes, in the entire picture, the combination of colours and hues, in the composition.”

English version: Milena Daynova