Leonid Afremov...

So I was just going to do a short little facebook blurb about this guy, Leonid Afremov.  I was just going to briefly let the world know, via a status update, that I found a painter that I adore.  And I was going to include a picture of one of his paintings.  But as I sat looking through the google images of his work, I found that I had already spent close to 45 minutes just looking at the paintings and was no closer to picking the one I wanted to post than I was when I got started.  I don't know...I couldn't just pick one.  So here I sit, an hour after having stumbled across one of his paintings on Pinterest, devoting an entire blog post to my new favorite artist.

For some reason, his paintings just speak to me.  What this guy does with light and color is just amazing to me.  And he does it all with just a pallet knife...no brush.  If you take the time to look through google images of his stuff like I did, you will see that his paintings are all very similar. 

However, the more you look at them, the more you notice the differences...the things that make each painting unique.

Most of what he does are landscapes and city scenes, like what I've already shown you.  But he's also got some amazing portraits...mostly of musicians.

...and even some still-lifes...

I've always been a big fan of the classic impressionists.  This guy is a modern-day impressionist, and I just can't get enough. 

Last year around this time I discovered and amazing photographer, Peter Lik.  Now, I've found an amazing painter.  Am I sophisticated, or what?!