Milena
Popova

I live in Sofia, Bulgaria and I am a self-taught artist. I started painting about four years ago, after a long period, during which I worked in a completely different field, in the corporate sector. Тoday my life is entirely connected with creativity. After leaving my position, I founded a small nonprofit organization in which I support children and young people with disabilities by engaging them in creative activities. I have organized a number of art festivals, exhibitions, and initiatives in Sofia. This creative beginning inspired me to develop myself as an artist.

I took part in masterclasses in oil painting with the Russian artist Alexander Sergeev and the Bulgarian artist Georgi Petrov. For three years now I have been painting entirely on my own, creating my own artworks and I believe that my style is recognizable. As an artist, I have worked with many mediums, but with a focus on oil painting. I am interested and have also practiced ceramics and batik painting techniques on textile.

In the last two years, I had two solo exhibitions in Sofia and one international solo virtual exhibition after taking part in a competition. In 2021 my artwork “Nostalgia” received an Honorable Mentioned Award in the international art contest” How I remember 2020?”, organized by ArtShowInternational. I also took part in several group exhibitions during the last year. In the summer of 2021, I contacted and invited 10 Bulgarian artists, with whom we started the creative group "Love of Tripods" and so far we have presented four traveling exhibitions in different cities in Bulgaria, which will continue this year. My next solo exhibition in Bulgaria "Equinox" is coming in March 2022.

For me, creativity is a way of life, and painting is a state of mind. The sea, the water, the endless expanse, the distant horizon, the elusive, the longing, are a source of inspiration. This is what I try to recreate in my paintings, and the most important thing for me is that they arouse emotion and excite. I am happy to be alive, to feel, and to have eyes for the beauty, and thankful to have found a way to express it through my art.