My first order… At the first time of my life I got order… I was happy really. So it was Febrary 2007, we lived in St. Petersburg. And the owner of that place where we lived, she had a friend, and this Kate one day decided to meet us and to see my painting.
So we have a long conversation with her. She explained why she would like that i painted her, she wanted with this painting to begin a new chapter of her life. And to find a man, who she would like to psend her life with. So we decided we;d meet next week, and I will make some sketches, and she will bring me her photos. So well, I began to work, on my first real order. So I made some sketches. And we met with Kate, funny thing, we met in McDonalds where day before was bomb Ok, Kate likes my sketches. And we decided I’d begin. And next my free days she will come to sit. So I made a first layer. And Then I was painted her from real Kate. The only problem , it was first work, plus Kate is not easy person, she has a lot of things, I mean, she is very different, she changed. While she was sit for me, I spoke to her, we all was speaking. My mother in that time was like my art agent. She helped me to find orders, find gallery, and also when I have a problem in Paintings, I talked to her, and we discussed it. So I could very quickly to fix the problem. Anyway portrait of Kate was very difficult. Especially the reflex of her in the window glass, one time I was SOOO angry, it was the period I was already about to finish this my work. But this second face, looks, like drank, like it laugh at me. My mother was tired, and slet I am tried to awak her, to ask, may be she see any clue how to fix it. But I saw that she is sleepy, and it is impossible to awake. SO I looked again to reflex of Kate. And Kate with face of drank bitch looked at me and laughted… I felt she laught that I couldn’t paint her second face. It makes me so hot, so I just took my paint brush, took the dark blue and green color and put it on her face… The went, made me coffee, drank some coffee, came back to Kate, cleaned her face with diluent, took out some layers of paint, and decided to paint it again. Over one hour I got that face that this painting has now. Anyway I need one more sit of Kate, and we decided to meet in Saturday. But in Friday Kate called me, and said, that accidentally she decided to travel with her friend, and she will return over a week or week and a half. I was sad, but day before it I said my mommy, I know, I made all wrong, and I know the best way how to paint Portrait of Kate, she likes Delft, she llikes Holand, I needed to paint her like a girl reading letter by Vermeer. It will be best. And when I got this call from Kate. I said to my mother, quickly I have one week and a half that to paint second portrait. We went quickly to one gallery to buy clean canvas, and we didn’t have too much money to get again in the second time to net, so we just quickly came in one book store, where I quickly found paintings by Vermeer, and found Girl reading letter. I painted very quickly. Yeah I also was working in that time, but anyway if to count days, I spend only 3 or 4 days, and protrait was done. Then I finished without Kate the first one, and when she came back. And came to us to check portrait. First I showed her the fisrt portrait…She was glad to see changes. She likes what I did in this First one… But then I said: So Kate, we have not only one portrait… she said yeah i see, I and the reflex of me in window… So I have two portrits… I said: No Kate, you misunderstood… We really have 2 portraits. And I showed her the second portrait which was hidden. In this moment she was really wondered… She fell in love with second one too. I asked her, so you can choose, to take one or another, she said, but I want to take both… So it was really good idea to paint 2 portraits, good practice, and money twicely…