Olga Bezlepkina

I grew up in a small Russian industrial town surrounded by steppes and forests. As a child, I saw this strange neighborhood of mining and concentration complexes and amazing natural landscapes . Back then I was wondering what is the place of the human person in this world, why do we not live in harm...

I grew up in a small Russian industrial town surrounded by steppes and forests. As a child, I saw this strange neighborhood of mining and concentration complexes and amazing natural landscapes . Back then I was wondering what is the place of the human person in this world, why do we not live in harmony with nature? Then I needed simple answers to difficult questions. I was looking for it in botany and regional history.
I ended up with more questions than answers, but it had a big impact on my sense of beauty.
I still take environmental and biodiversity issues to heart. I hope for a peaceful and harmonious existence of humans in nature. I am full of vitality and inspiration when I can be alone with wind, sunshine, plants and myself. That’s why most of my paintings are about nature and the human place in it.
I’ve been drawing all my life. But it was never my profession. I graduated from a technical university and worked most of the time in IT. It's a really big deal to me to say: “I’m an Artist”.

I started to take this seriously a few years ago thanks to a nasty accident. I went to Sri Lanka to surf. But after a couple of days, I broke my rib. It was very disappointing - all my plans were ruined. I had a small set of watercolors and a sketchbook with me, and I began to go to the plein air in the fishermans village where I was staying. Then I felt that the world is kinder to me when I have a brush in my hand. New friendly people are reaching out to me, I learn more, I look at the world around me more broadly. That incident allowed me to slow down and think of the main thing: what do I really want to do? I came home with a clear answer and a determination. I still fondly keep those sketches I made at the time.

I've experimented with different mediums before. I tried to paint with oil, acrylics, colored pencils, did airbrushing and murals. But watercolor is my greatest passion. Watercolor allows me to work fast, on the same breath. My emotions don’t fade before the painting’s finished.

I’m constantly studying and perfecting my technique. I attend courses and master classes in painting and drawing. I like to watch the hands of other watercolor artists move and explore the potential of this paint. Watercolor has its own character, which must be taken into account. I need a lot of backbone to “gain respect” for watercolors.

My process is like a cocktail of strong emotions, excitement, passion and clear planning and analysis. Sometimes planning and analysis take longer than painting itself. But I love that part of the process in my own way. That's like anticipation of the magic.

Now I'm also painting with Chinese ink in Xieyi style. It makes my hand tougher. It makes my soul a little more mellow.
It is interesting for me to consider the essence of the subject without being distracted by details. It's amazing how subtly and emotionally you can convey form, character, even an intangible spirit with just black ink. Sometimes I am happy to experiment with the combination of Chinese painting techniques and watercolor techniques in one artwork. It gives interesting results and helps to develop.
Wide Chines painting style helped me get used to a large-format paintings. This is quite difficult for watercolor: you need to carefully control the wetness conditions of a large paper sheet, act quickly and decisively.

Every my artwork is my master and friend. I’m grateful them for experience. My goal is to find them new friends, to let my paintings make someone’s life a little better, a little more beautiful and a little more joyous. I hope the Artfinder will help me achieve this goal.