Sergey
Kurbatov

BEGINNING

It started in a preschool (my parents were living in Leningrad at the time) where we all were given watercolors. I disliked them so badly: everything is spreading out, brushes are shaggy… I used to love gouache way more as it stays within the limits. I started my first grade in Novosibirsk, we used to do some watercolors there, too. After that, came academic watercolor painting at art school, full of endless still lives, samovars, clay pitchers and plastic apples. That was a true endurance test! Later, I got in the Mukhina School in Petersburg, and it was then that I grew interested in watercolors. But it was still to become ‘the flow’ you’re happily bathing in. I worked as a designer for 20 years, practicing watercolors for fun, to go unpublished. What I did a lot was experiment, search, hone and collect. This years-long ability to work for myself, not for sale, allowed me to be independent in what and how I painted.

BREAKTHROUGH

Quantity could not lead to anything but quality. Around 2010, I started actively participating in exhibitions, both in Russia and abroad. My works got featured in international biennales in France, media publications started to emerge. Later, a very natural thing happened – when you’re good at something, people around start asking to teach them to do it. In 2012, I gave my first instructional plein air in Montenegro. Since then, teaching has been just as important in my life, as painting itself. In recent years, I’ve been giving watercolor masterclasses and courses in Moscow, Novosibirsk and Saint Petersburg. I held a 10-day instructional watercolor plein air in Crimea. For six months, I taught in an art studio for adults using my own methods. It should be noted that it was not only watercolors, but also drawing, above all. I regularly take part in plein airs and art trips with fellow artists (to the Altai, Crimea, South Kazakhstan, etc.)

I think that for an artist, there is no such stage when he or she can stop learning. Insatiable creative desire, search for new ways and opportunities, communication and self-education regardless of your level are the keys to every artist’s success.

WHY WATERCOLORS?

I’ve had a long friendship with watercolors. In art school and later in the Mukhina School, we learnt how to paint using watercolors, sometimes gouache. I learnt how to use oil on my own, out of interest. But it’s watercolors that always has been number one for me, it’s just the way it came to be. On top of that, I understand that mastering watercolor is a life-long journey, it doesn’t have any limits, one can never say, “I’ve mastered it. There is nothing new or fascinating left”. I just can’t afford to take up anything else while there are so many things yet to discover and try. It always amazes me.

There are few practical benefits, as well. For example, starting out doesn’t require a long preparation and study of techniques. A set of paints, few brushes, a sheet of paper and a water cup – that’s all you need. If you’ve forgotten to wash the brushes today, it’s not a big deal, you’ll wash them the next day and they’ll be perfectly clean. My whole field baggage easily fits into a backpack, and you can paint in watercolors at home, outside, in a stairwell or a café – and the list goes on and on.

BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS

Born in Budapest in 1970. In 1993, graduated from the Mukhina Leningrad Higher School of Art and Industry (currently - Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design) in Saint Petersburg. For a long time I worked as a graphic designer and illustrator. Teaching since 2010.

EXHIBITIONS AND AWARDS

2010
- solo watercolor exhibition in Russian-German House (Novosibirk, Russia)

2011
- solo watercolor exhibition in the Novosibirsk State Art Museum (Russia)

2012
- participation in the International Watercolor Salon in Aiguillon (France)

2013
- solo exhibition in Apeldoorn (Netherlands) as part of the year of Russian-Dutch friendship
- III rank Award of International Watercolor Salon in Aiguillon (France)

2014
- Participation in the First International Watercolor Biennale in Saint-Paul-de-Leon (France)
- participation in a joint exhibition at the end of the Altai plein air (Liberov Center, Omsk, Russia)
- First award in the contest "Russia Today" organized by the British Council
- Participation in the International Watercolor Biennale in Saint-Fereole (France)

2015
- Participation in the International Watercolor Exhibition “Masters of Watercolor” (Saint-Petersburg, Russia)
- solo exhibition in MSE School following up on the results of the contest by the British Council (London)
- participation in the International Watercolor Elite Exhibition in Taipei (Taiwan, China)
- international watercolor exhibition in Brussels (Belgium)

MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES
- Novosibirsk State Art Museum (Russia)
- Liberov Center (Omsk, Russia)
- Gallery No. 1 (Novosibirsk, Russia)
- Many of my works are in private collections in Russia, Europe, USA, Japan