Born Ilona Spivak in 1965 she was the younger of two children.
She was born in Tashkent in the former Soviet state of Uzbekistan Where she and her family lived until 1979 the family emigrated to the U.S. in that year. Ilona says she remembers herself drawing often on any and all surfaces where she could use her crayons even at a very young age. Her interest in drawing continued throughout her childhood and even through high school where she excelled in art and physical education over her other studies. Art was a class where language was universal so her early lack of English was not a disadvantage. In her later school years she found art a comfort in her new surroundings. Ilona credits the influence of her husband and his family who recognized her talent (even if untrained) for her beginning on her present journey in the discipline of oil painting.
Ilona finds her artistic inspiration in the work and techniques of the Flemish masters. These days very few artists practice the style espoused by those artists of “long ago” and art schools no longer teach very much about it. She started studying the techniques of the old masters around 2002 and has been trying to refine her own style by emulating them ever since. Ilona basically considers herself “self-taught” but has studied with several well listed and represented artists from all over the U.S. some of the artiste from whom Ilona has sought training and advice are Robert Roark of Cape Cod and Copley master Mikel Wintermantel who provided invaluable knowledge about mediums and techniques used by the likes of Rembrandt and other old masters (i.e.; painting on copper etc.) in addition to much appreciated critiques of her work. Ilona also worked for a number of years under the watchful eye of Copley master Robert Scott Jackson at his atelier in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The person Ilona credits with influencing her style and technique the most is an artist from her native Soviet Union, Alexie Antonov who now maintains a studio as well as resides in Mukilteo, Washington. Antonov is the artist who taught Ilona the three layer system she employs to achieve the “classical” look with a contemporary bent she strives for.
She thinks the most beautiful work of art is the one that reaches
your mind and heart.
She was born in Tashkent in the former Soviet state of Uzbekistan Where she and her family lived until 1979 the family emigrated to the U.S. in that year. Ilona says she remembers herself drawing often on any and all surfaces where she could use her crayons even at a very young age. Her interest in drawing continued throughout her childhood and even through high school where she excelled in art and physical education over her other studies. Art was a class where language was universal so her early lack of English was not a disadvantage. In her later school years she found art a comfort in her new surroundings. Ilona credits the influence of her husband and his family who recognized her talent (even if untrained) for her beginning on her present journey in the discipline of oil painting.
Ilona finds her artistic inspiration in the work and techniques of the Flemish masters. These days very few artists practice the style espoused by those artists of “long ago” and art schools no longer teach very much about it. She started studying the techniques of the old masters around 2002 and has been trying to refine her own style by emulating them ever since. Ilona basically considers herself “self-taught” but has studied with several well listed and represented artists from all over the U.S. some of the artiste from whom Ilona has sought training and advice are Robert Roark of Cape Cod and Copley master Mikel Wintermantel who provided invaluable knowledge about mediums and techniques used by the likes of Rembrandt and other old masters (i.e.; painting on copper etc.) in addition to much appreciated critiques of her work. Ilona also worked for a number of years under the watchful eye of Copley master Robert Scott Jackson at his atelier in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The person Ilona credits with influencing her style and technique the most is an artist from her native Soviet Union, Alexie Antonov who now maintains a studio as well as resides in Mukilteo, Washington. Antonov is the artist who taught Ilona the three layer system she employs to achieve the “classical” look with a contemporary bent she strives for.
She thinks the most beautiful work of art is the one that reaches
your mind and heart.