He studied at the Sophia Academy of Art from 1994 to 1997, but cut short his studies to travel to England with his wife who worked for the BBC World Service. It was at the Academy that he produced his first collection of finely detailed etchings. He is a great admirer of the German artist Hors Jehnsen and the Spanish artist Hose Hernandes.

Since living in England he has concentrated on the creation of exquisitively detailed and textured acrylic paintings, working in his studio from rough sketches, elaborate drawings, watercolours and his visual and emotional memories from his travels around Europe.

Ruslan's inspiration and ideas come mainly from his own background and interests. His portrayal of the many styles and influences of Eastern European architechture is founded upon his inherited interest in the subject, his father having been an accomplished architect, working in Latin America, in particular Cuba and Mexico for several years. Ruslan, as a result of this experience is now fluent in Spanish.

Ruslan is also a great fan of '70's progressive rock and psychedelic music and the mythical, symbolic and fantasy art that go hand in hand with that genre.

“My paintings are explorations of emotional states through the use of colour and complex visual space. The various sources of light bring into relief some of the details and tone down others to express intensity of feeling. Each painting is a new challenge and an exciting journey. It is created in stages, using sand, collage of paper or cloth, to achieve a course surface on which several layers of paint are applied. Scraping the upper layers exposes the ones underneath, enriching the colours and allowing greater expressiveness.”

please click on any image to enlarge