Artist Bio

I was born on the island of Cyprus from Armenian parents. As a young child, I was constantly sketching random scenes on pieces of paper. During the late 70's I attended the Melkonian Educational Institute as a boarder student, where I continued my artwork. My art teacher, Sebouh Abcarian, taught us basic principles of depth, proportion, shading and watercolour.  I kept drawing and painting throughout those years, and continued producing artwork since then, wherever life took me. I am mostly self-taught in my style, and settled in pastel and charcoal due to the practicality of these media, since I was a student most of my productive years and could not afford the liberty of a large workspace or a studio to venture into oil. I particularly like the hands-on attributes of pastel and charcoal and the fact that I can use the background colour of the paper to bring out the most desirable effects. I have featured my full range of art on this site, from my very early works, to the very recent, to demonstrate how my art evolved not only in style but in selection of themes and subjects. I always loved drawing portraits, trying to capture the essence of their expressions, and injecting my style into them.  In principle I have always tried to create and portray a larger and symbolic concept in my compositions. I love to use children and human figures, Armenian folk dance themes, mythological themes, and symbolic historical scenes out of my imagination. Art is a universal art form, an outlet of expression and creativity, and should not be confined to certain people. Just like language, it is an integral part of our existence.