Даниил Волков/Daniil Volkov, 1974 | Abstract Impressionist painter

Даниил Волков was born in Yalta, the son of renowned Ukrainian artists with an ancestral history of painters going back to the court of Imperial Russia.

In 1989 he entered the Crimean art school named after Samokish and it was here that he met his future wife Elena, also a distinguished artist. He graduated in 1989 and his first solo exhibition was held in Yalta in 1995.

Furthering his education, he studied at Moscow State University. In 2001, Volkov returned to Yalta where he has been living and working since, specializing in capturing the beauty of the Crimean landscape in his own distinctive lyrical style.
Volkov has participated in numerous exhibitions, his works are in private collections in Ukraine, Russia, Europe and USA.

Interview with Daniil Volkov

Source: Gallery Russia 2011

Q: You come from a multi-generational family of artists. How, if at all, did any of them influence you?

Daniil Volkov: The atmosphere in our house was the most influential on me. I grew up seeing paint, brushes, easels and the smell of paint from my father as he came home each day from his studio. I came to feel and understand that I had no other way to go but to be an artist. My father further encouraged me by insisting that I go to art school.

Q: Were you formally educated as an artist?

Daniil Volkov: Yes. I attended the Crimean Art School named for Samokish. It teaches the fundamentals of art and was very well known and highly respected during Soviet times. I believe I received the strongest possible base for my painting while studying there. Next, I attended the Moscow State University of Print where I learned much about graphics and composition.

Q: Many American artists want to know how you attain such an abstract and loose impressionistic style in your work. How did you develop such a style and do you have any tips for artists who want to paint a little more like you?

Daniil Volkov: Abstract? No. I elected to paint in this style. When an artist is inspired by something and tries to paint it, it must be taken seriously. The small details cannot take your attention from the main emotional theme. One must exclude the small details which can draw the viewer away from the main theme or make them quiet. The freedom to paint in this style lies only in experience. Only hard and constant work yields this freedom. One must work more and think more.

Q: You seem to paint a lot of coastal scenes with water and boat or city scenes of historic towns. Why do you find these subjects so appealing?

Daniil Volkov: I just paint the beauty which I see every day and is around me all of the time. This is my Crimea – very beautiful and rich with history. Every day gives me joy of life and work. There is so much to paint, I just wish I could work everywhere.

Q: Is there a specific painting you really want to paint but have never done so?

Daniil Volkov: I am mostly concerned with directions in my painting, not specific paintings. Now, I am mostly working with landscapes and I give all of my time and energy to this genre. I am like an excited pupil that has the feeling he has started to understand something and can open the next phase of development and start his storm again. If I start to get bored with landscapes, I will go to portraits or genre scenes.

Q: Will you be painting larger format works in the near future?

Daniil Volkov: Exactly what I am doing right now! I am trying to enlarge the format of my paintings without sacrificing tension and mood.

Q: If you could predict the future, what kind of works do you see yourself painting in five, or even ten years?

Daniil Volkov: I know just one thing. It will be years of work – every hour, every day, every year.

Daniil Volkov è nato nel 1974 a Yalta, Crimea.

Nel 1994 si è laureato al College di arte della Crimea.
La prima Mostra personale di Volkov si tenne nel 1995 a Yalta.
Nel 2004 si è laureato presso l'Arts Moscow State University of Printing, laureato come graphic designer.

Dal 2010 è stato un membro del National Union di artisti dell'Ucraina.

Il tema principale della sua pittura è il paesaggio.

Volkov partecipa a molti all'aperto. Egli è un partecipante permanente di mostre d'arte.

Vive e lavora a Yalta.