I was born and raised in Ukraine, then part of then USSR. Being an only child of a drama teacher and director, I practically grew up onstage and
backstage, and eventually developed a strong dislike for all things theater, and a passion for all other forms of art, especially visual arts and writing.
I started drawing the moment I figured out how to hold a pencil, as cliche as it sounds. I spent every free minute I could find drawing, painting, making
sculptures out of modeling clay, and filling notebooks with illustrated stories and poetry. But even though I did more extracurricular activities than you
can shake a stick at, art was never one of them. Even at an early age I knew that being a professional artist in the USSR meant either being forced into
a mold or ostracized, and I didn’t want to be either. Drawing was my personal treasure, and a form of escape from the reality I neither understood nor
liked.
I started studying piano when I was four, and for the longest time everyone assumed that I would become a professional pianist. Ten years later I
realized that even though I loved music, that path was not for me. I quit piano, taught myself guitar, and decided to start a rock band. I didn’t get
very far.
As any other “normal” Soviet child, I was rarely if ever exposed to western culture, and had no idea things like Star Wars, comic books, MTV, and
fantasy art even existed. I first learned about those things in my teens. It was love at first sight. I tried to imitate the style of Frank Frazetta and
Boris Vallejo, and even got a few exposure assignments at local magazines, but still would not consider art as a career.
I attempted to enter the State University Of Cinematography in Moscow in hopes of becoming a movie director. My hopes were crushed mercilessly
when I was told that unless I had money, connections, and the temperament of a cutthroat bitch, I wasn’t going anywhere.
My knowledge of English and knack for writing got me accepted into the Lviv State University, where I spent a year studying to become a journalist.
By the beginning of the second year I realized I hated journalism with a passion, and dropped out.
backstage, and eventually developed a strong dislike for all things theater, and a passion for all other forms of art, especially visual arts and writing.
I started drawing the moment I figured out how to hold a pencil, as cliche as it sounds. I spent every free minute I could find drawing, painting, making
sculptures out of modeling clay, and filling notebooks with illustrated stories and poetry. But even though I did more extracurricular activities than you
can shake a stick at, art was never one of them. Even at an early age I knew that being a professional artist in the USSR meant either being forced into
a mold or ostracized, and I didn’t want to be either. Drawing was my personal treasure, and a form of escape from the reality I neither understood nor
liked.
I started studying piano when I was four, and for the longest time everyone assumed that I would become a professional pianist. Ten years later I
realized that even though I loved music, that path was not for me. I quit piano, taught myself guitar, and decided to start a rock band. I didn’t get
very far.
As any other “normal” Soviet child, I was rarely if ever exposed to western culture, and had no idea things like Star Wars, comic books, MTV, and
fantasy art even existed. I first learned about those things in my teens. It was love at first sight. I tried to imitate the style of Frank Frazetta and
Boris Vallejo, and even got a few exposure assignments at local magazines, but still would not consider art as a career.
I attempted to enter the State University Of Cinematography in Moscow in hopes of becoming a movie director. My hopes were crushed mercilessly
when I was told that unless I had money, connections, and the temperament of a cutthroat bitch, I wasn’t going anywhere.
My knowledge of English and knack for writing got me accepted into the Lviv State University, where I spent a year studying to become a journalist.
By the beginning of the second year I realized I hated journalism with a passion, and dropped out.
I immigrated to the United States in 1994. It was only here that I began to seriously ponder the career of a professional
artist. Fate, it seems, finally caught up with me a year later when I began accepting freelance art assignments part-time.
I quit my day job and became a full-time artist in 2000. I've been working as an artist ever since, creating private
commissioned work for corporate clients and private collections, and exhibiting at various fantasy and sci-fi conventions
throughout the U.S.
I live in a picturesque seaside part of Brooklyn, New York, with my husband Chris, our two young boys, James and Oliver,
two feline sidekicks, Pandora and Beastie, and more books and videogames than we have room for.
If you have a question, check out the Q&A section: chances are, it’s already been answered there.
artist. Fate, it seems, finally caught up with me a year later when I began accepting freelance art assignments part-
I quit my day job and became a full-
I live in a picturesque seaside part of Brooklyn, New York, with my husband Chris, our two young boys, James and Oliver,
two feline sidekicks, Pandora and Beastie, and more books and videogames than we have room for.
If you have a question, check out the Q&A section: chances are, it’s already been answered there.