We recently connected with Lucy Tolkunova and have shared our conversation below.
Lucy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I started on my art path about 15 years ago and of course there was a lot to learn. I have no formal art education but I love art and I wanted to be able to do it myself. Learning always starts with an interest, interest brings an excitement about the subject, and excitement makes you find opportunities to learn. I always try to find the best resources available for me at a particular time. There are many great artists who teach classes, workshops or have mentorship programs and I study and learn from them. And for me the one thing that is a key to learning is practice. You have to find time to practice and it doesn’t have to be a big painting every time, do a small project, sketch, draw, do quick studies. It is easier to find 30 minutes in a day to do it. Small steps in the right direction are better than standing still. It took me many years to get to the point where I don’t use the “I don’t have time” excuse. Yes, with a full time job outside of my art career and 2 kids, my schedule is very busy and there is no “perfect time” for art, there is just a time during a day or night that I can squeeze in my schedule to do art.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
For the past couple of years I have been focusing a lot on portrait drawings. My kids keep my schedule busy so I carry a sketchbook with me and every time I find myself waiting for their classes to be over I take it out and fill pages with portrait sketches.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect for me as an artist is when people connect to my artworks. When they see my art and it triggers some thoughts, emotions, or memories. Sometimes when my collectors share what they see in my art, their story/vision might be quite different from what my vision was. And that is what makes art so unique because we see it through lenses of our own experiences but we still can connect through art.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
Being an artist really is a journey; not a quick one because someone has a talent. It’s a long journey of learning and practicing, experimenting and refining skills, building art business and finding your own voice as an artist. Artwork is not measured by a number of hours spent on it but rather by all those years spent on the creative journey and by personal feelings that artists put in their works. In my creative journeys I had the opportunity to study and connect with some amazing artists that I learned from and was inspired by them. On my journey I’m spending numerous hours painting at nights after my kids are in bed. But with staying focused and being true to my passion for art I’m now getting ready for my first solo show. And I’m always excited to see what the next turn of my art journey will bring me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lucytolkunova.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucy.tolkunova/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LucyTolkunovaStudio/