Fate decreed that I was born in the city of Artemovsk Donetsk region, Ukraine. I was born in the USSR.
My parents lived in Odessa. My father Dmitry was a military pilot, he often absented himself on business trips and my mom had to give birth to me in Artemovsk, where her mother lived. After spending several months in Artemovsk, Ive never been there. It was only 9 years since the end of World War II.
Despite the fact that I was born in Artemovsk, I consider myself from Odessa and very proud of it.
My first steps in art took place in the street Pirogovskaya in Odessa. We lived in a military town, our mothers participated in amateur musical groups at the House of Officers, they played the harp. We also took part in all of festive concerts were snowflakes and penguins (we sewed beautiful costumes) Our holiday dresses called pack. At that time, I dreamed of becoming a ballerina, and even while attending a ballet school. I remember the large mirrors officers House. Later, I wanted to play the violin, but became involved in playing the piano.
On the last day of the release of the kindergarten gave me the paint and the album, noting my passion for drawing. Already there I drew a lot.
My meeting with Sergey Dmitrievich Schelov played a very important role in my life.
Uncle Sergei was an army doctor retired, lived with his wife in our home and was an amateur painter. His own children he had, and we were lucky, he devoted all his spare time and his love to us. We made a lot of very interesting things have been painting in watercolor and oil classes we sawed a file different things, we have learned to mold and molded sculpture.
This was the impetus for me, I'll even let parents, enrolled in art school. In the morning, taking with them the textbooks Education School, I went to art school, came much earlier than I was preparing lessons before class.
My mom visit art school only six months to the first parent-teacher meeting. After 8 years in secondary school, my parents insisted on my going to art collage. I was not very happy about it, I wanted to graduate 10 classes and then make a choice. But my choise already been made for me.
In OGHU colдеge was a great atmosphere - the youth and creativity throughout all 4 years. This can be assessed only when it ends, and it comes time to start thinking about their daily bread.
After high school, it was very difficult to find a job, I've got the distribution and had to go to Zhytomyr region as a teacher of drawing and painting. I honestly tried to even go there, but did not find even the schedule destination buses.
After the trip, trying to get without getting detachment, I went home and told my mom that I wanted to stay at home.
Start looking for a job, it was difficult, it was a lot of humor. But one of the places was very interesting.
The Soviet government wanted to retain control over creative people, because they had free thought that was unacceptable. Thus, the Odessa Art Production Complex was established. How many wonderful and talented people began to work in it. The main course was the creation of advertising. The most interesting thing is that many of them live and work in the city and have become very successful artists and architects.
They are professionals of very high level and it is very unfortunate that their potential is not in demand at a time when advertising has become the main engine of our growing economy. Work at the Art Works enabled me to understand myself. I really like walls and large formats.
The first and probably most important for me was the order Kuyalnik. Health Resort. The resort was built brand new housing in each of which it was planned to place at the same time in 1000 campers. In one, the most wonderful day, me and my friend Irina Evangelidi were invited by our master Sergey and said that he entered the order, and we have to go and read it. We went to Kuyalnik.
While the director and chief physician of the resort was an extraordinary man Stanislav Rozhkov. AND HE SHOWED US order quantity! It was unbelievable! 120 square meters of murals in the new dining room and another design, the so-called Kurhaus. There could be anything your heart desire, only fantasize and offers.
Irina and I were in a state of ecstasy, but intuition told us- early to rejoice. We are young and our mothers colleagues, learning about such happiness, will not give us such fatty and very sweet piece of absolute creativity. After some discussion, we decided to share an order with an experienced architect and another mother Irina, Vladimir Bondarenko. It was right. We were able to do paintings in the dining room!
It was the start of a 3-year epic work on Kuyalnik! It was magical!Stanislav was very advanced head and helped us in solving the problem. And we made a very good and incredible goal. We decided to make painting in the technique of "cold encaustic." In this technique, made famous Fayum portraits, and they have survived to our times. The technique is based on the use of wax. Its history dates back from the times of ancient Greece. Considered lost until the last century, when the Ukrainian proffesor Hvostenko not brought her back to liI was very fortunate to be a painter monumental.
Kuyalnik period was perhaps one of the happiest moments of my life, because at that time I met my husband.
In the plant I worked for 15 years, and was sure that I would work there until retirement. But things have changed, come the 90s the beginning of perestroika. Even while continuing to work, I realized that everything comes to an end and you need something to solve!
I have my beautiful art studio in the wonderful Uyutnaya street. I decided to make my own business, open a gallery and it became the first private gallery in Odessa. Time was a wonderful, artists suddenly feel that they need someone to buy the painting began, artists began to exhibit his work in the city park of Odessa. All of it was wonderful.
In 1992, I had a new idea.
In1993 I founded the Odessa Maritime Gallery, and it should be devoted to the marine theme. His sponsor should refer to the most serious company city, such as NMP.
I made an offer, and they were not only well received by the idea, but also supported and have become my friends for life. So in April 1993, located on the French Boulevard in the Institute of Eye Diseases named after Filatov Odessa Sea Gallery was opened.
1995. This year was probably the most remarkable meeting in my life, I met with Nikolai Pavlyuk, Director of the commercial port of Odessa, I came to him and said: "Nicholas, our gallery is now well known throughout the world, but we work hard, because the building where we are staying is not so good "
Having said these words, I could not imagine that all this will end, and did not believe until the last moment, not just crossed the threshold of an exciting new gallery.
I realized that I was the happiest woman on earth, my dreams come true. Gallery lasted until 2009, when we had to move to Cape Town!
Everything that I write, I write about the work, which has become the most important thing in my life, I have not written anything about my family, about my painting. Everything I did, I made originally for my children, as well as to be able to draw, regardless of the sale of paintings.
I have the most wonderful husband in the world, who dedicated his life to me and to our children. We have two girls. And I am the happiest woman in the world of art!
