Art lessons from Leonid Afremov

From beer labels to world-famous paintings — this is how the creative path of the master can be briefly described. By his example, a native of Belarus proved that great art requires not only talent, but also entrepreneurship, the ability to keep up with the times.

One need to work hard

The unique style of the artist cannot be confused with anyone else’s. Bright canvases with a dense layer of oil paint strokes resemble a kaleidoscope. The skies explode with colours, the figures of people mysteriously rush into the distance, and the famous cities look fabulous beyond recognition. As the artist himself said, ‘true art is alive and inspiring, it helps us get rid of evil and despondency’.


He did not come to impressionism immediately. After graduating from college, instead of paintings, he had to work on labels for beer and campaign posters, and as a hack, he had to sculpt busts of Lenin from plaster. There was no creative freedom, but there was a skill to create works quickly and efficiently.

Do not to be afraid of experiments

After the collapse of the USSR, Afremov moved to Israel with his wife and sons. The colourful landscapes impressed the artist so much that, trying to convey bright colours on canvases, he put down his brush and picked up a palette knife. Artists usually remove excess paint to them, and he began to apply. Quickly, densely, spontaneously. An ordinary trowel has become the main tool in skilful hands.
Years of sharpening the technique led to the fact that the artist could spend only ten minutes to create a completely new oil painting. And he gave out ten to fifteen pieces a day. As a result, by the end of his life, the number of his works exceeded one hundred thousand.

Accept support from loved ones

It was not eminent agents who helped Afremov to take place as a commercially successful artist, but his own sons! To put it mildly, the family of emigrants from the USSR was not welcomed in Israel. Cunning gallery owners took Afremov’s wonderful paintings for fifty shekels, and resold from five hundred to five thousand. Seeing this, the eldest son Dmitry showed ingenuity and began to walk from block to block, offering the Israelis the work of his father.
Business took off — the ability to trade manifested itself in all its glory. But when they started talking about an emigrant artist, it became difficult to work in the traditions of Judaism. Naked silhouettes slipped through his pictures... As a result — Orthodox Jews destroyed the artist’s studio, so he had to leave Israel.

Travel for inspiration

Vitebsk, Ashdod, New York, Florida, Puerto Morelos — the Afremovs managed to live in different corners of the world. However, the artist himself, not without pride, once said: ‘I visited about a hundred countries. I do not like to sit still. Impressions are the only thing that no one can take away from us. What a person has seen is not going anywhere’.
The last refuge of the famous master was Mexico. “I can not turn on the news for months, I am not interested in the exchange rate of the dollar, the ruble and everything else. I live for my own pleasure in a place that is timeless. It’s calm, quiet, there is a blue sea, there is always a warm weather, what else is needed for an artist?” confessed Afremov.


Did he remember his native Vitebsk? Fans are sure that more than once. Many ‘guess’ in the diversity of numerous rainy alleys exactly the Belarusian streets. But the author preferred to remain silent on this subject, maintaining an aura of mystery.

Fill people’s hearts

Palette knife painting is called Afremov’s style. He created it, developed it and popularised it. Interestingly, a few years before his death, the artist recruited students who today united in a studio named after him. Even during their lifetime, they began to create copies of famous works under the guidance of a master, and continue to this day. One can easily buy them online. Moreover, the prices for high-quality replicas of followers are low.
Art should be accessible, the master believed. He rarely exhibited in galleries, and sold most of his works via the Internet. Indeed, this gave impetus to the emergence of numerous fakes. But at the same time it brought wild popularity. After all, the canvases of this particular artist most often become models for painting by numbers. And some psychologists use impressionist painting in art therapy sessions.

By Sofia Arsenyeva
Photos: www.artifex.ru