The intensity of Sam Kaprielov's imagery is due in no small part to his consummate technical ability and the confidence of his compositions. Sam Kaprielov trained in St. Petersburg and began his career as a billboard painter, arriving in London in 1998. Over his career, Sam Kaprielov has created dense tonal charcoal drawings and monumental compositions which equal the intensity of Seurat’s works on paper, layered with subtle shading, using Rembrandt pastels and a fine charcoal pencil. He begins the process by drawing directly onto prepared gessoed board and continues by finely scratching out the whites and lighter areas. Later he builds up the detail with the charcoal pencil. This meticulous academic technique combined with secure draughtsmanship at first glance gives the illusion of a black and white photograph. On closer inspection the viewer enters a fantastical dream, reminiscent of the delirious 'hand-painted dream photographs' of Salvador Dalí.
The artist