Contemporary artist Ignat Ignatov finds joy painting on location
Down a familiar path beside Pierce Park pool, Ignat Ignatov sets up his easel on the edge of the marsh and begins work.
As he paints, your eyes are drawn to the palette, watching in anticipation of what might happen next, transfixed by the ease and grace with which he practices his craft. As the morning fog turns to a midday mist, Ignatov’s soon-to-be completed piece of color-harmonized panel is a good example of why this talented artist is lighting up Charleston.
The Daniel Island resident takes nothing for granted, noting that “communism made for an interesting childhood” while growing up in the 1980s in Bulgaria. “The Communist Party didn’t want us to know what capitalism looked like. As a kid, I understood how limited my life would be as an artist but I liked doing it,” he said.
At 13, his passion and talent gained him one of only 30 spots available at the Secondary Art School for Applied Arts — currently known as Tryavna School — in Tryavna, Bulgaria. He spent five years at the school learning the fundamentals for fine art in sketching, sculpting, wood carving and painting. Ignatov soon realized that the pursuit of the American dream meant being able to have the freedom to spend each day creating and making a living as an artist.
In the documentary “Ignat Ignatov Journey of an Artist,” Ignatov’s mother explains how their clandestine sale of one of his largest wood carvings financed his trip to America. In 1997, he left his native country and was bound for California with a dream and a backpack that held only his drawing pencils, clothes for warmer weather, and his hammer and chisel for carving wood.
It was here in the U.S. that he would search for artistic employment with the same fire and enthusiasm as he creates art. While living in Los Angeles, he established citizenship, studied, taught painting classes, and earned awards and attention among art circles around the world.
Ignatov ultimately landed on Daniel Island, where his minimalist approach to living fits him. “Traveling is a major source of inspiration, there are discoveries in each new painting,” he explained.
Most striking, when you meet him, is the joy and exhilaration he has for painting. He remarked, “It’s time to have some fun! One of my favorite places is to go outside painting.” He enjoys the en plein air technique of painting on location.
Under the canopy of trees beside Pierce Park pool, blending in with the scenery and mixing colors, Ignatov’s is a direct, Alla Prima approach. “Recording spontaneity with brushstrokes without contaminating it with too much thought, wet (paint) into wet produces a result that appeals to me,” he said.
Appealing it is. There is an energy and accuracy in his painting, an unbroken rhythm that represents the landscape in an honest love for the moment that he so elegantly captures. In his work, mystery turns into magic and it’s a glorious process to watch him use a limited color palette, a palette knife and only one other brush.
As the mist in the air grows heavier, Ignatov must pack up and head back to his studio, the FROG of a neighbor’s home where the finishing touches will occur. This very moment in time feels like a passing glimpse into the journey of a master in the making.
Ignatov’s work can be seen downtown at LePrince Fine Art Galleries at 183 and 184 King Street. To find out more about the artist, visit www.IgnatovArt.com.