I was born in Almaty, former capital of Kazakhstan, to a family of scientists. From early years I was surrounded by discussions about physics, astronomy, and biochemistry. My father, trained nuclear physicist, loved to carve wooden figurines and to paint pictures, all inspired by the beautiful nature of Zailiysky Alatau. My mother taught physics at the State University and loved cooking for friends and family in her spare time. Much like Kazakh nomads, I traveled from place to place, and lived in different countries prior to coming to USA.
All those experiences influenced my perception and interpretation of the world and its beauty. This site is called Iris Pond Design. It will display my artwork, travel photography, and will facilitate discussions related to both forms of visual art: painting and photography.
Welcome to Iris Pond Design ! Why Iris Pond you might ask?
It goes back to our 2009 trip to Japan when I fell in love with the Golden Pavilion Kinkakuji (金閣寺) in the northern Kyoto. Golden Pavilion stands in the middle of the pond with Koi fish and blue water Irises. Its top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf, reflecting sunshine, water and intricate laces of trees’ shade. The blue water iris, also known as Iris Laevigata, is the most aquatic of all irises. Despite its striking simplicity, this three petalled, rich royal blue flowers adorned with broad pendant falls exhibiting a white central ridge and slightly narrower, upright standards. The combination of blue and gold colors in different shades around the Golden Pavilion is spectacular and memorable, while representing royal dignity, natural beauty, and human ingenuity. A true piece of art since 1397.
When the time has come for me to choose the name for my art adventure, I decided to call it Iris Pond Design in my memory of the ageless art of the Golden Pavilion.
Now that I use liquid acrylics for my art, this name suits the purpose and goals of my work even better than it did originally. Interestingly, the Liquid Acrylics techniques do not require paint brushes, instead artists use combs, funnels, hairdryer, and other non-related to art tools. It might seem very simple to pour the paint on the canvas and see what will come out of it. So simple in fact, that kids can do it without much effort. However, the true art starts from the moment you understand which laws of physics & chemistry affect the outcome of the liquid acrylic painting. For example, to reach the effect of the Dutch Pour on the canvas, one would need to increase the temperature, the dirty pour uses surface tension, and the reverse dip – suction forces. Each of the liquid acrylics’ techniques creates a specific pattern on a canvas, the pattern that artist can further enhance with an air blow, brush or stencil, comb or a little air balloon. The options are endless!
Thus, liquid acrylics allow your imagination to go from the simplicity of individual paint to the intricacy of the final results via forces of gravity, surface tension, weight, dilution, etc. While it looks like an easy trade, there are many technical challenges with this type of art, and one of them is time. There is very little time for pouring the paint mixture and create the exact pattern you’d have in mind. Then the canvas has to dry for 2-3 days and that is when the painting is also can be affected by gravity and tilt. Specifically, acrylic painting requires patience, ingenuity and acceptance of numerous failures.
The final point I want to make is that Iris Pond Design represents the convergence of art, science and digital technology. Digital Technology plays significant role in our lives nowadays: our work is done on computers, we communicate via internet and social media, we create art with digital applications and use technology to showcase artwork in digital galleries. Digital Technology offers us new opportunities and opens new horizons, we just need to use our imaginative power to take our art to the new status quo of CREATIVITY.
Enjoy your IPD journey!