In 1995, I became the first Bulgarian student to earn an international scholarship to attend the Maryland Institute, College of Art (Baltimore). The mixture of classical French and Russian Academism influence from The National School of Fine Arts in Bulgaria was broadened by exposure to Modern American Art. At the Maryland Institute, College of Art, I dedicated all my energy to expanding my previous knowledge to a new artistic context. “Experimenting” was the next stage of my evolution as an artist. There I opened my horizons to arts like installation, computer animation, etc. I graduated with honors in 1998 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, concentrating in painting and ceramics.

In 2000, I entered the Tyler School Master of Fine Arts Program in Painting. There I won an international grant that allowed me to spend the first year at the Rome campus, studying painting and also teaching an undergraduate course – Painting on Paper. Rome, a place where culture, art, tradition and history blend together to form the most enriching and gratifying experience for an artistic soul, was a dream come true for me. My second year brought me to Philadelphia where I completed my MFA degree.

I have studied closely with famous artist like Roul Middleman (Acting Director of The Hoffberger School of Painting and The Director of the Figurative Academy in New York), Abby Sangiamo (Chair of The Drawing and General Fine Arts Department at MICA, Yale alumni) Paul Moscatt (Yale alumni and MICA faculty), Donna Nelson (New York artist) and Margo Margolis (Chair of the Painting, Drawing and Sculpture Department at Tyler School of Art). As an artist, I have looked at the hard work of those preceding me. I borrow as much as I can use and add my own fraction of originality. I express myself in a language that is forceful and poetic, rich and exciting, so that all can understand it. My work is distinguished most through its narrative figurative quality. My strongest influence comes from Roul Middleman’s and Donna Nelson’s advices.