Petya Peeva and Plamen Kostov get inspiration from shapes, colors and light and shadows in nature when they draw their paintings. Their works are like an ethereal imprint of animate and inanimate nature on the white canvas. At first glance you sense life, the bird has spread its wings, the horse is racing with the wind, the ripe fruit looks like it has just been sliced and seduces the eye with its sweetness. We learned from the conversation with the artists that it took them many years to upgrade their ideas, techniques and life views, in order to achieve success.

“At the moment, there is nothing concrete in fine arts that is modern. Everything is used, as long as it is done with due measure and talent "- this is what Plamen Kostov says about his artistic duo with Petya Peeva. At the beginning of November this year they unveiled their first exhibition in Sofia, entitled "Together", not only to demonstrate their creative work in tandem:

"The idea is much more comprehensive than the word itself", says Petya Peeva. " I want people to be more united, to be in harmony with nature and feelpositive emotions. We are calling for unity, because recently we have become alienated from each other. I prefer to emphasize the beauty. We paint together and look at each other’s paintings. We often criticize each other, but we also support each other. We have been working and living together for more than 15 years".

Petya and Plamen graduated from the University of Veliko Tarnovo, majoring in painting. Their paintings can be seen in many places in Bulgaria, mainly in Veliko Tarnovo, Stara Zagora and Sofia, but also in Norway, Canada, Russia, Greece and many other places.

“We have not lacked inspiration during the social isolation this year. When we are out in the nature, we get plenty of inspiration and come up with different ideas- says Plamen Kolev – I usually paint horses, but I also like birds, landscapes and the different moods they bring. We have favorite artists and we follow them on the social networks. I grew up with paintings by Levitan and Aivazovsky and I believe that there is hardly anyone who does not like them. There are many good contemporary Russian artists, especially those who paint with watercolor paints, whom I admire, although I paint mainly with acrylic paints.”

"I was born in Russia. My mother is Russian and my father is Bulgarian. I have lived most of my life in Bulgaria, but I am also breastfed by the culture of the Russian country. I associate it with my childhood, with some wonderful snowy winters, many friends and, strange as it may sound, with a lot of warmth. In Bulgaria, as an author and artist, I am mainly interested in the Bulgarian village, the Bulgarian traditional way of life. I like ordinary elderly people, carts, chickens, houses and everything typical of the everyday life. I lived in Maglizh, which is a small town and these things are quite familiar and dear to me. That’s what I like to paint. I associate the beauty around us with life in a Bulgarian village. ”

English version: Kostdain Atanasov