Our intense classical art education in Russia provided us with an exceptionally strong foundation for our artwork—a springboard we use to translate the modern world around us. In the early days of our career, we experimented with mastering a host of mediums, but it was when we explored Russian iconography and the European Renaissance, learning the beauty, grace, and poetic harmony of egg tempera and gilding that we knew we had found our highest passion. We love the challenge and extreme level of detail demanded by this highly sophisticated medium, the way it commands our full attention and a perfect blending of skill and sensitivity. We both work on every painting and have done so in total harmony for a quarter of a century.
We approach each painting with an open heart, building up the surface with thousands of tiny strokes, one on top of the other, to develop depth and luminosity. Egg tempera dates back to early Greek and Roman art and we love being part of that continuum. Building upon history, we feel we are singing a contemporary song using the beauty, grace, and elegance—the visual poetry—of an ancient tradition.
Olga and Aleksey Ivanov at South Valley Park, CO