Svetlin Sofroniev, 2023 Landscapes Competition, 3rd Place Winner

Artist Svetlin Sofroniev, has been passionate about working with watercolors since he was a child growing up in Lom, Bulgaria. His fondness for the medium is based on its intrinsic qualities — immediacy, the value range achievable with each color, and its difficulty to master — all of which he celebrates.

Explaining why he prefers to work in watercolors he says, "The impression of the moment can be easily expressed with watercolor. I like to compare it to haiku poetry in that it tells the whole story without getting overburdened with details."

Sofroniev feels fortunate that his first experience in art education as a young boy was with a teacher who was an accomplished watercolorist. "This training opened the door for me to master the challenging techniques and build my confidence in the medium," he says. Sofroniev continued his art education at the St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo where he graduated in 1999 with a specialty in Pedagogy of Arts (a teaching degree).

When searching for inspiration for his work, Sofroniev has always found it in the beauty of nature, cityscapes, architecture, light and color. "When I see these things," he says, "I want to paint them all!" With each subject, he feels that he translates what he sees into a story to share with his viewers, and in that sense, his work is deeply personal.

Sofroniev participates in regional and national exhibitions, and his works can be found in galleries and private collections in Europe and North America including Bulgaria, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Bosnia, Herzegovina, U.S., and Canada. He has also participated in many solo and group exhibitions.

INSTAGRAM: @sofroniev.art

FACEBOOK: Svetlin Sofroniev Art Page

Svetlin Sofroniev | 2023 Landscapes Competition, 3rd Place Winner

3rd Place Winning Entry

Windmill