One of my earliest memories is sitting in my aunt’s garden at the age of 5, sketching and painting flowers. I grew up surrounded by art: my father is an art professor and painter, and I often visited him in his Moscow studio. It felt like a magical place: the heady smell of oil paint, the palettes glowing with siena, ochre, cobalt, the array of canvases at different stages of completion. I went on to study at the renowned Surikov Art Institute in Moscow.

I feel a close affinity with the Moscow school of painting, where there is a particular focus on colour and tone. I see myself primarily as a landscape painter. Nature is a constant source of inspiration. I particularly enjoy plein air painting, studying the same scene under different light and weather conditions and during different seasons, focusing on colour and value relationships.

I see my art as essentially lyrical – expressive of a deep emotional engagement with the subject matter, whether I’m painting a still life or landscape.