MV Interview - Sergey Popovichenko

Hey jungle painters,

we often have the honor to chat with fellow painters from all around the world on shows like Monte San Savino or the Duke of Bavaria. Often we realize that there are so many other painters, which are not present on shows. Today MV had the chance to have chat with a famous Ukrainian painter: Sergey Popovichenko.

Interview is done by Peter,
of the MV-Team.

If you are interested in more Interviews please check this link!

MV: Hey Sergey, nice to have you here. As some of our readers will know, you are a well known painter from the Ukraine. You paint your minis in a very dark and realistic way. Please tell us a bit about yourself.

Sergey: Greetings my friends!! I´m also very happy to have this chat with you!
What can I tell you about myself ... My name is Sergey Popovichenko. I live in Ukraine, in the capital Kiev. And I have been painting miniatures for more than seven years. I get the most pleasure from it in my life. I embody my ideas. In miniature, I find my expression. There is nothing limiting me, and success depends on me. It's worth a lot.

At the moment, I'm not only an artist, but also a teacher of the Kiev National University of Technology and Design. My speciality is to design engineer equipment for the light industry. It was the work of the teacher allowed me to develop as an artist. I had some free time after school with students and wanted to do something other than designing of equipment. It has enabled me to remember my childhood fascination with toy soldiers.

Defensor Romanum

MV: It´s always interesting to hear the tales of how somebody got into the hobby. So please tell us your tale of the brush 

Sergey: My way of engaging in miniature long enough. When I was a child, my family was not rich, there was a time when we did not even have a TV. I devoted a lot of time in reading books and drawing. Over time, I became more interested in adventure and historical novels. I drew and redrew the characters from the books. Of all the gifts that were given to me I'm most fond of my soldiers. I arranged the war on the floor of my children's room, glued cardboard castles and siege machines from wood. Thus, began my passion for modeling. Then, when I was at university I came over pewter figurines, a company unknown to me. And at models magazine I saw how they can be painted and arranged. I began trying to paint. Then, when I got internet, I became acquainted with the works of artists from around the world. I was impressed, so my enthusiasm only intensified, and the results began to grow.

MV: As most of our readers are from Western Europe or the US we are sure they don´t know a lot about the painting community in Ukraine. Please tell us a bit about it.

Sergey: Talk about the community in Ukraine can be long. There are many emerging artists, and a few guys whose works inspire respect. Among them are Konstantin Pinaev, Victor Osipenko, Stanislav Kurilenko. You could already see their work on the P&P and PF. However, in comparison to Europe, the number of people who are interested in miniature is very small and there is no organization for it. Far more people make models of tanks, aircraft and ships. A large number of them is more organized. They have clubs and they hold exhibitions on which you sometimes can find a small number of figures.

However, it is nice that there are sculptors who are collaborating with a variety firms from Europe. Among them, Oleg Pogosyan. You should have seen his figures in my painting. He creates a wonderful knights. He sculpts for Tartar Miniatures, First Legion, Mercury models. Chronos Miniatures.

Dungeon of Skulls

Arbalester

MV: As we already mentioned, you are famous for your dark and very realistic style of painting. What´s your philosophy of painting? Where do you get your inspiration from?

Sergey: My style of painting is probably a reflection of my philosophy and my view of history. War is bloody work, and I can clearly see the ancient times in muted colors. So I imagine these warriors are not as bright as they are usually drawn. Most of the figures, which are created by sculptors are quite brutal. So why not emphasize their brutality with a brutal muted painting. Mud and blood in acceptable amounts will speak about the environments in which they are fighting.

Just dyes available simple soldiers were not so bright and so stands in antiquity as in modern times. So this is another reason to mute colors. Of course, the more noble warriors, I would draw more clearly, if required by the situation. But I try to choose simple Slayers for painting. I prefer legionaries and centurions, not legates. I prefer infantrymen, sergeants and knights in battle rather than kings.

Bertrand du Guesclin

MV: What was you greatest success in you hobby-life and of course why?

Sergey: I hope I have not yet achieved the greatest success and my main achievement is yet to come. I have several awards at exhibitions in Spain, Italy and Russia. It's nice, but much nicer to conceive a new interesting project and bring it to completion. In this lies the greatest pleasure and I hope I have the strength for the realization of all my ideas. If I make them, I think you would be interested.

MV: At the moment there are a lot of miniature companies. Which is your favourite one?

Sergey: I can not name a favorite company there are interesting to me periods and figures on these topics from different manufacturers. If the figure is interesting for me, I do not watch a company name.

MV: Beside brushes, minis and colors, what is the most important thing on your table? 

Sergey: This is of course the camera :) But there are things near the table without which I can not be. This is my bike and my dumbbells. And of course my computer and books. Sometimes I like to play shooters and strategy or read an interesting book.

MV: Do you have a picture of your table? Please, do not clean it for it :)

MV: Some short questions: Are there any painters you admire?

Sergey: Diego Ruina, Roman Lappat, Ernesto Reyes, 

MV: Do you lick brushes? 

Sergey: Yes  This is done unconsciously. So I'm using thin brushes. And the left hand in the paint, I remove the excess paint from the brush.

MV: Favourite breakfast? 

Sergey: Eggs to shake with milk.

MV: Favourite song?

Sergey: Oh ... a lot of them! Something heavy!

MV: Favourite film?

Sergey: Terminator

MV: Favourite color?

Sergey: All colors, but only muted! 

Crusader

MV: What is your favourite miniature so far?

Sergey: I can not choose one. There are many great figures from the great sculptors. 

MV: Last question: please tell us which would be the greatest development in your hobby?

Sergey: In the past a great development was to try oil paints. Work with oil on acrylic - it is surprisingly pleasant. It gives remarkable results. The greatest development in the future - learn to sculpt. It would be great to embody my own ideas.

MV: Thanks a lot, Sergey :)

 

Follow Sergey on his websites:

• Sergey on Putty and Paint
• http://spopovichenko-wip.blogspot.de/ - here he publishs short articles about painting and technologies
• http://sergeypopovichenko.blogspot.de/ -  here just finished work