My name is Denis Ivanov, I am 20 years old from Bulgaria and soon I will start my third year in the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy. It’s such a journey, no kidding.
For years, I found comfort in Art. If you had told me I would be painting with unusual techniques like fire or metal and creating art installations later in life, I might have thought you were just a bit loony. For the first couple of years after I started doing it, I watched many Youtube videos and for a period of time, I took some classes with very talented and amazing teachers.
At some point, I stopped taking Youtube classes and started to focus on developing myself as an artist and finding my own style. Who would have thought that it will be such a hard thing?
I remember in those early years how I was waiting and wanting to finally become better at combining colors. Also I spent a lot of time finding my own voice and style. I think that I am still finding myself in every piece which I paint. But I had to learn to walk before I could run.
It's a beautiful thing.
Portraits were my first love in art, but now I love to create abstracts and have recently fallen in love with various forms of fluid art. I rarely have a plan, but always have a concept and idea. I truly trust the intuitive process and know that when I am painting, something is moving through me and it always amazes me seeing the final outcome. Curiosity.
And that was the moment when I realized that I have to upgrade. To work something that will wake me up every day and I won’t regret it. That’s how I found the biggest art of all. The art around us – the Architecture. I was in love again.
But like every love story, the life of architecture student is a complex thing – joy, regret, anger, passion, desire, no sleep, a lot of coffee. Just kidding. I do not drink coffee. The important thing is that you have to be in another part of your own art universe and you have no idea how to start. Here the questions in your head start to hit you. Am I good enough? Why I have to study 5.5 years to work for not less than 500 euro? How can I be so stupid to study this thing? Why the barman in the club earns 3 times more than me without any education? Am I too late to study something else? Questions and questions, but there was something that was still keeping me there. Something I had forgotten - I am an artist and I will be so until I die. So I put myself together and that was the moment I started to enjoy the things again.
In the university and not only, I found another people and soon we created our non-governmental organization called “ARTERIA” – a platform for different kind of artists like painters, musicians, actors, dancers, photographers, make-up artists, environmentalists, philosophers, bio engineer, etc. For only 3 months we became more than 30 people in it. Can you imagine?
We create different kind of events and exhibitions and art-installations in order to make popular our flow – Art in Science. I am so proud! I will end here with only one advice, dear reader.
Keep fighting until you find your passion and never wait for chances. Earn them!
by Denis Ivanov
Participant in
YE Save our money in Mezobereny, Hungary