Archive for October, 2010

by Guest Blogger Paola Minekov, artist

When, a few months ago after seeing my painting in a group show, Yang-May asked me to be a guest blogger on Fusion View and tell you something about my art, I really had no idea where to start. I asked her what she thought you’d be interested to know about and she was like: ‘Well, Paola, you know, people would like to know how you make your art, why, what inspires you…’ Simple, right? I make art, so one would think I’d be able to explain why and how without too much effort… except, I couldn’t really. Until last night that is, when I attended my first meditation lesson and it all clicked. People meditate because they need an outlet for their emotions, some ‘me time’, an escape from all the stress and their hectic lives. The thing is, it turns out that for me making art has always been a bit like meditation - a process in which I work on my painting with the kind of concentration that actually helps me forget to think - I stop hearing the music in the background, all my daily problems melt away, and all that’s left is the artwork. It may be because I’ve been painting all my life and having started to paint this young often means that there are no agendas, no specific thesis one necessarily needs to prove, discuss or conceptualize. It’s just what I do, because if I don’t, it feels wrong. And before I started painting and exhibiting professionally at the beginning of 2010, I used to mainly do it when I had a problem I needed to express, solve… or simply let go of.

While, or perhaps because, I come from a family of artists and have studied Fine Art for years, after graduating I decided I wasn’t ready to become a full time professional artist. I told myself (and everyone else) that I was too young to close myself in a studio and that I needed inspiration. This was partly true. As you’ve probably guessed by now, to me painting is a solitary business. The truth is though, that being an artist isn’t easy for more than just that reason. It’s a life full of ups and downs, where one’s body of work is constantly judged, evaluated and re-evaluated by literally everyone who sees it. It’s not that I don’t like hearing people’s comments, on the contrary, and nothing makes me happier than seeing another person connect with and relate to something I have painted. It gives a deeper, new and external meaning to my work. I would go as far as to say that it helps me see new things in my own work and develop so now I intentionally seek it… But because art is so damn personal, I still feel that I need to prove myself, over and over again, not only as an artist but also as a person - something I found very hard to come to terms with in my early 20s.

My paintings are and have always been conceived in my mind. They are my own, from the minute I first imagine them to the moment I paint the last brush stroke, take a step back, take a good look at my work and tell myself: ‘Yes, this is it, this is what I saw in my head’. After that they sort of acquire a life of their own, like grown up children who no longer need you… In this sense exhibiting and selling them can be likened to the process of letting go. It does however require a certain level of detachment and a mindset I’m still working towards.

Yet, my mind is full of colours and numerous images I’d like to paint. I’ve realized that what inspires me the most is the feelings and emotions of the people closest to me, the important events in my life and my immediate surroundings. Perhaps letting go of my completed works, the ones that no longer need me, also means making more space for new beginnings…

You can see Paola’s works at the Ballet Gala in the Britten Theatre on November 7.

Her website is www.paolaminekov.com where you can see some of her work. I love her fluid style that conveys graceful movement even of scenes you’d expect to be static such as cityscapes!

Images: from Paola’s website, with thanks