We were lucky to catch up with Nikita Budkov recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Nikita, thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?
I would not change anything. I decided to become an artist when I was a teenager and was blessed with parents who supported me. Soon after graduating from art school, I sold my first painting in the art show at 22. Being young and having extra time really helped me to invest my energy into mastering the craft and I don’t have any regrets about that.
Nikita, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I graduated from the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art as a trained portrait artist in 2017. Quickly after that, I got involved with the California Art Club, the oldest fine art organization in the USA, and taught myself landscape painting, particularly en plein air. Every year since I have been exhibiting with the Club, including their premier annual show Gold Medal.
I paint for other shows as well as commissioned paintings.
My art is on the edge of Realism/ Magical Realism, and, above all, I appreciate the narrative and atmospheric qualities in my creations.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
The single best thing to support living artists is to purchase their creations. It is the job of an artist to produce quality original pieces, the job of a marketer/gallery to promote and educate the public about the importance of art and collecting, and the duty of art collectors to help the flow of emerging artists continue.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
In my opinion, it is “getting into the zone”, which applies to any artist, craftsman, athlete, or hobbyist. The notion of performance, a creative process, a sort of “possession”, when you put all your strength, mind, and soul into your craft, when time stops and nothing else matters.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nikitabudkov.com/
- Instagram: nikitayasny
Image Credits
1. High Noon, Quail Hunting near Tehachapi 2. In the Nightside Eclipse 3. Mystic Science, Making a Kombucha 4. Garden of Abandon 5. Wind of Change 6. Rebirth of Light 7. A Hidden Place 8. The Magic of Nature, Mount Baldy Village