“In art and design we look at the works of Maria and Valery Varbanov, two leading Bulgarian artists, who have worked together to blend the realistic with the abstract.” 

Saeeda Al Abbas – Publisher, Gulf Connoisseur Magazine, October/November issue 2005

         These abstract items of still life art though provoking, extremely pleasing to the eye and reach out to touch the inner chords. We take a look at some of the latest works by two Bulgarian artists, Maria and Valery Varbanov.

Meena Narayan – Editor-in-Chief, Gulf Connoisseur Magazine,October/November 2005 

BIO & ARTISTS' STATEMENT

      " We were both born in Bulgaria, where we continue to live and work.  One of the oldest countries in Europe, Bulgaria is situated on the crossroads between the Eastern and Western Worlds.  A rich cultural mixture, (some dating back 6000 years) - ancient Thracian, Roman, Old Bulgarian and Turkish, Christian and Islam. Thus, our art is heavily influenced by traditions of both East and West.
         Plovdiv, . . (City of Artists), is the ancient cultural centre where we proudly live and work. We' ve been drawing and painting since childhood. Although no specific incident provoked us to paint, we have always been keenly aware of the artistic beauty of nature in the world around us. We believe it was the intensity of that interest, that inspired us to paint. "

          Maria began her art education in the High School of Fine Arts in Plovdiv, where she studied for five years, while Valery is self-taught during his teens.
          Maria and Valery met in the Fine Arts Department St. St. Cyril and Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo, in the same class specializing in plastic arts and oil painting. Five years later,  they aquired their Masters degree in Fine Art. The University taught specific knowledge in a variety of paintings, printing techniques, sculpture, perspective, human anatomy and Art History, while emphasizing extreme comprehension of realism. They painted portraits, still life, landscapes, the human body, ten hours a day developing realistic skills. They both graduated from the University as the best students in the Art Department.

         "Veliko Tarnovo, the old capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire (12th and 13th centuries) –

a picturesque and interesting town, with many old houses, churches, and an ancient castle on one

of the hills. We consider ourselves fortunate to have experienced life, in both the oldest and most interesting Bulgarian towns – Veliko Tarnovo (during University) and Plovdiv (presently) –  bathed in an atmosphere of nature and ancient art ...the ideal environment for an artist to flourish."

         Happily connected not only by matrimony, but also by shared aesthetic philosophy, encouraged post-graduation experimentation in the sphere of abstract art and surrealism. This resulted in the exciting creation of many paintings in collaboration. In time however, her deep love for the  Classical-Realistic style of painting would eventually draw Maria back to those beautiful still-lifes : www.mariavarbanova.evro.net, while Valery continues his exciting work in the most interesting field of  the Abstract and Surrealistic :  www.varbanov.evro.net. During those Collaborative years, together they created hundreds of Photorealistic Portraits, from which they developed a unique pastel technique for the portraits.

        " Recently we decided to combine the realistic with the abstract and realized our collaborative New Project of abstract composition with realistic elements, which may be seen featured in our common web site – www.varbanov.dir.bg 
         Some artists find the emotional impulse drives them to create, and seek to reveal that emotion in their art. Other artists are drawn to innate logic and order; they are likely to take a rational approach to art. Concerning our art, we would say that although we are seeking to find the balance and accord between emotion and rationality in our paintings, we prefer art with rational tendencies, because it brings to our busy lives a sense of balance and harmony. 

         Regarding our common life philosophy, - we always try to think positive, to rejoice and appreciate every good moment of life. Likewise our shared professional philosophy constantly takes on new stylistic challenges. In this sense, we are unafraid to search out new ways and means of expression, always trying new subjects, media, and perspectives - to keep our work fresh and original.
         We believe the same emotion, challenge and difficulty arise in the painting of an apple,

a human face, or an abstract composition, and with that combined excitement and pleasure, we could paint anything.  Therefore we cannot limit ourselves to just one artistic style or genre.

To answer the question: “How did you decide to develop different styles?”: . . it comes from our different predilections and preferences, but actually we always work together – even though our styles vary: Valery assists Maria to artistically arrange and compose her Still-Lifes, just as Maria's opinion is important to the creation of Valery’s Abstracts …It’s hard to say where one stops and

the other begins, we work as a team,  much like a band creating a musical composition, we create

our visual – abstract or realistic - compositions."
                           
         Although Valery is an abstract artist, he has “always respected Nature”.  He loves to contemplate the natural beauty of the world around him, to take time to meditate while studying it,  and takes great pleasure from painting realistically.  As he states:  “I find non-figurative abstraction senseless. From the very beginning, in my earlier realistic work and later, in my abstract paintings, I've always respected form. That's why I require objects as images, symbols and signs in my abstract work. I seek to invent a new figurativeness, a separate reality, different from the natural world we see around us. In this sense I could define some of my work as more surrealistic than abstract. I prefer to call my art  Abstract-Surrealism.  To me abstract art is like music.  With deep feeling I arrange objects and images, colours and shapes into harmonious, expressive, mood-filled compositions, much the way a musician composes notes into chords that resonate with our emotions.
         As difficult as it may sound, my aim is to give visual form to non-visual qualities such as ideas, feelings and sensations. In fact - my paintings are a true expression of my subjective reality….

I think the artist's realistic craftsmanship is always recognizable in his/her abstract art. When viewing an abstract painting, I can tell if its creator is a good realistic painter or not. This is because realistic and abstract art subject to the same steady basic rules and principles...”
 
          Question : What drives Maria and Valery Varbanov to create a piece of art ? Answer: "Our passion for painting, the pleasure of playing the game, and the delight of creative discovery."
                           
         "THE INSPIRATION for our New collaborative Project  "Realistic + Abstract"   comes from Nature.  When our son was 3 years old and we walked with him around the park and into the forest, we were captivated by the intense curiosity he experienced in response to every object he gathered in his tiny hands; he impressed us with his fascination for the unique magnificence of nature’s simple creations. We watched his curious eyes fill with delight at the exclusive beauty of each of Mother Nature's treasures. These observations took us by surprise and made us realize that as grown-ups, we take Nature, . . for granted, . . with our shoe, we kick an acorn, leaf, a stone, a follicle or snail or twig, out of the way, . . because they mean nothing to us as we rush about on our busy schedules. Yet in the curious eyes of an exploring child, these items are priceless treasures.   

(Old Saying:  "one man's trash is another's treasure") 
         Our son provoked us to STOP, . . and take a look around through the eyes of a child. He refreshed our joy of discovery inspiring us to appreciate the delightful beauty and richness of Nature in such a variety of treasures. Each item is like a tiny universe unto itself just waiting to be picked up, held, felt and looked at, studied again, . . with fresh, new eyes !

          Our little boy gave us a fresh, youthful outlook on life in general, which made us feel good! Our goal therefore, would be to assist everyone who takes the time to view our New Project paintings, to feel good also. Our hope is to provoke the viewer's childhood curiosity and restore the excitement they felt in an erstwhile childhood discovery of some little object left for them by Mother Nature."

         We will rejoice in the contemplation of Nature through "The Varbanov" interpretation of Abstract-Realistic paintings. To clarify our intention from the outset, . . these paintings will most definitely not resemble a realistic illustration or imitation of nature, nor will they look like botanical drawings. On the contrary, that is why "we utilize the power of  Abstract Composition to influence the viewer via subjective reflection of objective reality".

         "Using central, abstract composition, the idea is to intrigue the viewer, to cause their attention to focus on the simple beauty of ordinary objects, to convince them that much beauty exists harmoniously all around us. We aim to capture an eye across the room and draw it like a magnet to the painting, . . and perhaps a pleasant surprise.
         By enlarging Mother Nature's small and simple treasures, perhaps we can trick the eye into lingering just long enough to catch a glimpse of the classical beauty that tends to hide from an otherwise far-too-busy-world. We want to persuade our audience to slow down, look around, enjoy the pleasures of classical beauty and elegant form. Pleasures that await in ordinary objects and material gifts Mother Nature has left for them in plain view, . .suggesting there is a mysterious, underlying order, . even in our chaotic world."
                 
          "Thus far we have completed nine paintings in this new series.  However all nine have been done in a smaller size so that we can blow them up in our projector experimenting to find the larger, more appropriate size.  It appears that (150 / 150 cm,  120 / 250 cm) or even as murals works well.  We are now searching for a gallery or a customer that would consider a sponsorship to assist us in realizing these paintings in their intended size."

        " As mentioned above, we compare OUR CREATIVE PROCESS to playing-a-game, . .  a game with strong aesthetic rules and principles. For our Collaborative Work,  people have asked : "How do you work together on one piece?"  We answer with a joke and say: "We draw a line down the centre, Maria paints one half and Valery paints the other ha, ha!"   But seriously, . . we tend to involve the computer more often now and we create digital projects for our paintings. Then we transfer the image to canvas or paper. So, a lot of our collaborative work is performed on the computer during our creative process.
         Folks also ask: "Who paints What and Why ?"  The answer is: When we transfer the project to canvas (or paper etc), and get ready to paint, between us, we know who is better at certain aspects, or which of us actually "enjoys" a task more, so depending on the painting and the particular task at the moment, is what decides who gets to do the job. For instance: Valery is great with a small brush and fine details while Maria can wield-a-mean "airbrush" and does some fantastic blending. Yet both are very proficient, knowledgeable and experienced at just about everything. So the word "collaborative" has true meaning for the Collaborative portion of our work.
         Getting back to the Creative Process,  over the years Valery has become very proficient with certain computer-software for painters, (Corel Photopaint, Painter, and Adobe Photoshop) which he uses during the creative process.  It's not often that we actually have a vision of the completed project prior to starting, unless, as sometimes happens, one of us has a particular mental picture that we want to record on canvas.  But generally a form or idea will emerge as we work on the digital project. We will draw or sketch or even take a number of photos of objects collected over the years, and study them in various layouts with different lighting.

             Then the game begins as we insert the results into our PC, and with its amazing help, . .we begin to compose. Adjusting size, colours and textures, we transform the shapes and volumes while mixing many layers until time and variation and through an intricate composing process eventually. . .our idea emerges!
         An amazing thing the computer! But for us, it is merely another art instrument, like our brushes and colour palette, but more universal. It allows us a shorter time to create many diverse compositions and quickly visualize hundreds of variations of the original image, . . . a mission impossible with traditional "tools of the trade"! The computer process has saved us tremendously in time, (all the trial and error of ideas), and material  (all the paper, canvas, pencils and expensive tubes of paint and other items). The amazing computer allows us to more quickly get to the good part, . . actually standing before the canvas with a brush full of paint in your hand!