About me:

Hi, nice to see you here :9 I am Vera Shtukensia, was born in USSR and now have my studio in Moscow (Russia), I am youtuber artist. I came to art at the age of 27. Before that I had scientific background as a practicing soil scientist, marketing manager and lecturer. After I defended my PhD in biology I fell in love of drawing and painting and since 2012 I make art objects with variety instruments, mediums and technics.

I believe that making art is a way to discover myself. During fild expeditions as a soil scientist I admired a lot the colors of soil horizonts and enjoyed the feeling of soil in my hands. That’s why I usually paint a lot with my fingers and bare hands. It is very satisfiying for me to touch the natural substances and move it around. My hands, hair and clothes are always covered with paints and the smell is healthy, because I prefer to use linseed oil.

Today I am freelance researcher and have full-time creative activities which allow me to dive into infinite black hole of visual communication through my paintings, books and films. I made my video studio with green/blue sceens, video lightning, camera setups and a painting studio with ready to go canvases, easel and paints. Everyday I film videos, draw/paint and write. I love painting in my studio with a daylight from the big side window or outside, but usually I feel greater desire to make my art late-night.

What inspires my art?

I travelled a lot acrross EU, Africa and Asia, so my art consists of unparallel breaths of cultures. Main force for my art is always Russian culture, nature and lifestyle. I am fond of reading Dostoevsky and Bulgakov, love russian language and enjoy seeing amazing colorful season changes. People say that I notice and appreciate unsightly details which others do not find impressive, so I can say that I am usually inspired by obscure things.

My favorite painter is Vincent Van Gogh, I get inspired of his lines and colors. Also I find inspiring pointillism, expeccialy Signac’s late works. I derive creativity from Kandinsky, Picasso, Dali, Warhol and Doig as well as from emerging contemporary artists whose works I watch a lot in social media. The biggest things which amaze me a lot are new technologies — internet, open source, robots, spacecrafts etc.

My working process:

I like to try newest mediums as well as traditional ones, mix, reorder, reuse paints and other materials, including new media and digital tools. I start my work with research. And when I my idea become more or less clear I start making it. I prefer to think and talk about my art a lot beforehand and afterwards, but at the moment I start making it no logical proccesses are longer involved; usually I make art works alla prima.

I am based in Moscow, Russia and very much opened for an international affair. My artworks are exibited in world wide web.

Background:

Honored Artist of the School (2003), Winner of Erasmus Grant (2011), Winner of International Creative Contest (Best video trailer, 2015), 100k Silver Creator Award (YouTube, 2018).

My major is science:
Two Master’s Degrees of M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (Humanities & Natural science)
PhD in Biology of M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University / Wageningen University & Research