Leonid Afremov: A New Kind of Artist

Okay.

Really quickly – what do you feel when you first see the following painting?

Joy. Bliss. Vibrancy. Color. Beauty. Happiness. (Yes, ‘color’ and ‘beauty’ are feelings.)

A smile.

That oil painting, my lads and lassies, was created by Leonid Afremov, whose rise to fame struck me as interesting. A few weeks ago, I spoke of Sergio Albiac whose domain is digital art, where he fuses painting with computer programs that results in futuristic and hauntingly amazing pieces of work. Afremov isn’t a new kind of artist the way Albiac is; his medium is as traditional as they get: oil paintings. However, his recognition and success is due to the harbinger of change in our technology-oriented society. The Internet.

That’s right. Before eBay, Afremov was the very picture (ha ha get it? He’s an artist.) of the stereotypical struggling artist. However, with eBay and other online means of vending, Afremov shot to fame and monetary success. And, if I may say so myself, justly so. He’s spectacular and his works fill me with a special fondness for the classic, romanticized Europe. Yes, the resplendent, almost magical, places he depicts do not exist in the gritty reality we live in but they do somewhere in our soul, our dreams. And when I gaze upon his work, I become uplifted with nostalgia, though I have never gone anywhere even remotely resembling such a place. Or maybe I have.

When I first saw one of his paintings, I thought it was some radical French painter from the centuries ago, maybe because . Nope. This man has a deviantART account. That’s right, muthafuckas. The man whose paintings seem to have popped out of old-world Europe has his paintings available for sale on deviantART (at the time of writing this, all the paintings on his deviantART account are for sale, so… go get ’em!). I admire The Internet to the fullest extent. Amazing things and people and art like this have always existed but The Internet spreads awareness that they exist, at a faster pace and to a bigger audience than ever before. A man who may have died with no one knowing his name is now an inspiration.

As a ballet dancer, the painting above tugs at my heartstrings.

Here’s what Afremov says on his deviantART profile:

Every artwork is the result of long painting process; every canvas is born during the creative search; every painting is full of my inner world. Each of my paintings brings different moods, colors and emotions. I love to express the beauty, harmony and spirit of this world in my paintings. My heart is completely open to art. Thus, I enjoy creating inspired and beautiful paintings from the bottom of my soul. Each of my artworks reflects my feelings, sensitivity, passion, and the music from my soul. True art is alive and inspired by humanity. I believe that art helps us to be free from aggression and depression.

Preach.

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