There are painters whose works are always recognized by a special manner of writing peculiar only to them. One of them is the artist Leonid Afremov. He creates paintings drawn in the style of impressionism according to the unique technology he developed, without a single brush stroke. Instead of this traditional tool, the master uses a palette knife - a knife designed to clean paintings, remove excess paint from the canvas and create relief images. Afremov developed his technique for many years, and he managed to bring it to perfection. From the careless strokes applied to the canvas with a palette knife, he produces incredibly bright, emotional and mesmerizing paintings.
The youth of the artist
Leonid Arkadievich Afremov is from Belarus. He was born in 1955 in Vitebsk - the city where such famous artists as Ilya Repin, Robert Falk, Kazimir Malevich, Marc Chagall lived and worked. The creativity of the latter had a great influence on the formation of Afremov as a painter. Leonid was fond of drawing from early childhood. After graduating from high school in 1973, he entered the Vitebsk Pedagogical Institute at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Graphics. As a student, he took part in various art exhibitions. After graduation, Afremov privately took drawing lessons from the famous Vitebsk painter I. Borovsky and worked as a graphic designer. In his free time, Leonid Arkadevich painted paintings, honing and perfecting his skills. Many of the early works of the impressionist could not be preserved, they are considered lost.
Relocation to Israel
The artist with his non-standard approach to painting was not understood in the USSR. In those days, it was required to depict Soviet ideologists and politicians on canvas, but Afremov was far from this. He developed his skills, painting with oil paints what he liked: wet streets, autumn landscapes, architectural structures, people. With the advent of perestroika, the artist seriously thought about emigration. In 1990, Afremov, together with his wife and two sons, left for Israel, leaving the Soviet Union forever. There, he gets a job as a signboard designer in a shop selling frames. The difficult time associated with adaptation to new living conditions had a positive impact on the work of the impressionist. On the promised land, the artist Afremov could fully reveal himself. Pictures from under his palette knife appeared in huge numbers. He created them almost daily and did it not for the sake of earning. It's just that here the energy began to beat out of him the key, he wanted to create without stopping.
Afremov made attempts to collaborate with local galleries, but not all of them were successful. In Israel, the artist managed to independently arrange several exhibitions of his works. Despite the fact that the canvases, written in an unusual way, brought the master first fame and money, he could not fully open in this country. Not everyone understood the artist here, his workshop was destroyed because of the presence of dark-skinned and naked people in his paintings.
Life in the States and Mexico
After living in Israel for 12 years and not finding full recognition there, Afremov emigrated to the United States in 2002. He first lived in New York, then settled in Florida, whose warm climate pleased him. Here the artist Leonid Afremov decided to stay. The masterās paintings received international recognition in America. Living in this country, he began to create canvases without restricting himself to any conditional framework. An indispensable assistant to Leonid Arkadevich was his son Dmitry. He took care of the sale of his fatherās paintings.
From 2010 to the present day Afremov has been living on his own ranch in the small Mexican town of Playa del Carmen. Having retired in silence, he does not stop drawing, delighting his fans with new masterpieces. The master practically does not arrange exhibitions of his works. He is one of the few artists who sells his paintings primarily through the Internet. Afremovās paintings can be found anywhere in the world. They are stored in studios, galleries and private collections. The total number of works by the author has already exceeded 4 thousand paintings.
Features of the painter's paintings
What is so interested in painting fans artist Afremov? His paintings are unique not only thanks to the special technique of applying oil paints on canvas. They attract with passion, expression, riot of colors, positive energy that breaks from the paintings and literally permeates the viewer through and through. Afremov loves to paint autumn rainy weather, but his paintings are not dull. They inspire and inspire a person to love life and nature.
One of the most famous and recognizable techniques of the author is the image on the canvas of wet asphalt, which reflects buildings, people and the light coming from lamps, the moon and brightly lit windows. He uses a similar approach in many of his works. The impressionist is not indifferent to umbrellas - the eternal companions of autumn weather. There are a great many of them on the masterās canvases. Afremov perfectly portraits of people.
Loving couples, parents with young children, ordinary people and celebrities - with the help of a palette knife, their images are realistic and harmonious. The artist devoted a number of works to animals. He also has still lifes. The impression of all his paintings is enhanced by a successful selection of colors and a skillful play of light and shadow.
Embroidery Pictures
Now it has become very fashionable to embroider the works of famous artists. Experienced craftswomen who are not afraid of hard and painstaking work can create masterpieces with their own hands, the author of which is Afremov. Pictures, embroidery of which will bring only pleasure, can decorate any room, bring cosiness, warmth and light to it. To create a masterpiece with your own hands, you do not need to look for photos of Afremovās paintings. Today, ready-made needlework kits with embroidery patterns for the artistās most popular creations are on sale. You can buy them at retail outlets where goods for children's and adult creativity are sold.
Reproduction of paintings by Afremov by numbers
Another trendy area today is painting by numbers. This is made possible by the availability of numerous colorization kits. They allow all art lovers to independently create copies of the works of famous painters, sketching with paints of the necessary colors numbered fragments on the canvas. In stores you can see sets with works of art by different artists, among them there are Afremov. Pictures by numbers are created quickly and look no worse than the originals. Fans of Leonid Afremovās talent can use these creative sets to make reproductions of his paintings, decorating them with their home or workplace.