The artist taught a small group of local painters during a day-long class at Elizabeth Dinkels Front Street studio.Oil Portrait PaintingBabailov arrived in Canada in 1990 ...
The artist taught a small group of local painters during a day-long class at Elizabeth Dinkels Front Street studio.
Oil Portrait Painting
Babailov arrived in Canada in 1990 as Communism fell and waves of social and economic changes swept across his native Russia and eastern Europe. His apartment was one floor above the studio where Sundays lessons were taught.
Soon after emigrating here Babailov started classes at Loyalist College.
Portrait Oil Painting
I would take a course in English as a second language and then, the same day, I would teach a course in painting and drawing, he recalled.
Babailov, who now lives in Brentwood, Tenn., created his first portrait at age four and now specializes in them. He works in oil paints, pastels and charcoal.
I love people, he said. To me its a challenge to find a unique and artistic picture in everyone. Its that uniqueness that makes each and every one of us beautiful.
Hes painted world leaders and celebrities but doesnt give much stock to a persons influence.
It doesnt matter what level of society they come from, Babailov said. To me its a human.
If I start thinking, Its a pope, my hand will start shaking. I dont want to paint a picture with shaky hands! he said, laughing.
Students gushed about their teachers technique.
Its like magic, said Dinkel, Babailovs frequent student and the organizer of Sundays course. It looks effortless when he does it and when we try to do it its not effortless at all.
We learned that we have a lot to learn, she said.
I have a dream of going and taking a seminar somewhere, but this is a world-class artist coming to us, said Jane Sanders of Huycks Point in Prince Edward County.
She said the class underscored the importance of balancing light and dark on the canvas.
Its all about tone, said Sanders. The only way you truly learn that is practice, practice, practice.
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