I am a self-taught artist with Transylvanian roots living in Ottawa since the late 1980s. Immigrating to Canada at a time when hi-tech was booming drove me to pursue a technical training, from which I graduated with a degree in electrical engineering. A career in Information Technology left me with little room for artistic endeavours.

My eye-opening moment was when I turned 50 and I realized that life was too short to let my dreams go to waste. So, I picked up a pencil and started drawing. I began exhibiting my figurative pencil drawings a year later and has won since several awards in local and international art exhibitions.

Having started out late in life, I was interested to try out different media: graphite pencils, coloured pencils, pastel pencils and sticks, acrylic, oil, resin, often mixing several of them together for an enhanced visual effect. I experimented with styles from realistic to abstract, and even 3D collage. Some of these works are still available for sale in my website shop. But in the end, I always seem to return to what really started me on this path: realistic pencil portraiture and figurative art. Although working with a brush or a palette knife have their own merit, there is no better feeling for me than the control I have over a graphite or pastel pencil guided by my steady hand.

I am an active member of several art organizations in the Ottawa area and I participate in various shows and other artistic events locally and online. I exhibit throughout the year in selected Ottawa community and commercial galleries, most notably at the Foyer Gallery. Since my untimely retirement in early 2022, I am now a full time artist and able to fulfil the dream of a lifetime and be what I feel I was really meant to be.

What inspires me is the beauty of my perceived reality. I can see so much beauty in the smile of a ragged old face, in the innocent expression of a child, in the seductive glance of a person, in the emotional power of a gesture, in the intricacies of the human figure, in the magnificence of the natural world, in the serenity of a still-life, if I don’t just look with my eyes, but also with my heart. Capturing the essence of this beauty has become my life’s passion and gives me tremendous joy and complete emotional fulfilment.

I gladly accept people and animal portrait commissions, please visit my website PortraitsFromPicture.com to place an order. For any other type of commission, contact me to discuss the possibilities.