Enjoy our Interview with Antoaneta
Sunnyshore Studio: Tell me about yourself? Where were you born and raised, a bit about your family, and when you started painting?
Antoaneta: I was born and raised in northeast Bulgaria near the Black Sea coast. During the school year most of my time was spent with my parents and sister in town. Each summer I would spend time with my maternal grandparents at their nearby village home. It was an idyllic setting with a bounty of flowers, fruit trees and a small vineyard. I got to watch and help care for a variety of animals from baby chicks to a dairy cow. Drawing and painting began to interest me around the same time as I began school at age six.
Sunnyshore Studio: What was the turning point for you as an artist? What got you serious about art as a calling?
Antoaneta: I became committed to painting with the strong encouragement and support of my first teacher Toni.
Sunnyshore Studio: Describe your art? What are you trying to do and say with it?
I am not really trying to say anything or send “messages” with my work. Perhaps in a somewhat selfish way I simply try to explore life and beauty with color and brush marks. It is very personal and meditative, a fulfilling but often lonely path. I tend to gravitate towards people because they fascinate me in so many ways. As much as I try to capture their personalities, I try to give equal space to color, light and the playful expressive part of it all. Following where the lines and shapes are leading me rather than the exact likeness. I do not strive to be photographic but rather to create my own playful reality.
Sunnyshore Studio: Who have been influences, mentors, teachers, etc. in your art journey?
Antoaneta: I am full of love and appreciation for my very first teacher Toni. We are fortunate to remain in touch with one another. At university, my professor Nikolai Rustchukliev inspired me to continue and see the true-life potential of being an artist. He never touched his student’s paintings. He was a highly educated intellectual and taught us with his words and his own work. Like all painters I have my own “giants” in the pantheon of artists. Among them are Sargent, Fechin, Matisse and more.
Sunnyshore Studio: Why are you excited to be showing your art at the upcoming Studio Tour at Sunnyshore Studio in a few weeks?
Antoaneta: I am very excited to be showing my art and working with the Dorsey family because I really relate to their collective commitment to art as a part of life. My husband and I have been going to Sunnyshore Studio as part of the Camano Island studio tour every year since 2016. With each passing year I have gotten to know them better and I have been inspired by their authentic passion and dedication. They are a “family” of artists in every sense of the word. They expend so much effort and time in service of their love for art. It’s a real joy to see people living their belief in the power and value of art. I am a big admirer and I relate to the struggles and sacrifices that artists endure. Ultimately…first and foremost…art is for the soul.
More about Antoaneta…
You can follow Antoaneta Georgieva on Instagram: @antoanetageoergievapainter
Artist Statement
I was always drawn to creating images, colors, and shapes even before I knew what “art” was. This creative process became the most exciting part of my life. Painting is a creative sanctuary where I truly come alive with purpose and pleasure. The studio is where I am very content with my life, and I never feel like I have wasted a single moment. I am forever a student trying to constantly improve and there never seems to be enough time. My aim in whatever I paint is to give myself pleasure in expressing myself well. What matters to me is how I put myself on paper or canvas. That’s all!
Professional Affiliations
Signature Member: WW, WFWS, NWWS, GWS, LWS, PWCS, WAS-H, MOWS
Juried Member: National Association of Women Artists (NAWA)
Associate Member: AWS, NWS, TWSA, AIS, OPA
2022 EXHIBITIONS
Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors
California Watercolor Association National Exhibition
International Watercolor Society Bulgaria International Watercolor Triennial
National Association of Women Artists 133rd Annula Exhibition
Northwest Watercolor Society International Exhibition
Philadelphia Watercolor Society International Exhibition of Works on Paper
Signature American International Watermedia Exhibition
Watercolor USA
Watercolor West International Exhibition
Western Federation of Watercolor Societies Exhibition WFWS47
Watercolot International-Greece Online International Exhibition
The Camano Island Studio Tour opens Friday, May 12, 10am-5pm. It continues on Saturday, May 14-Sunday, May 15, 10am-5pm. It continues over the next weekend, Saturday, May 21-Sunday, May 22, 10am-5pm.
Sunnyshore Studio is Gallery#3 @ 2803 SE Camano Drive, Camano Island, WA 98052
