Alexey Valyalin was born on the 9th of May 1970 in the village of Fedoskino.
Since childhood, he has been fascinated with the Sea. At one point his father took him to the Museum of Art in Feodosia(Crimea, Ukraine) during their vacation at the Black Sea. This Art Museum was converted from the studio of Ivan Aivazovsky, Russia's greatest seascape Artist who was born, raise and eventually finished his career in Feodosia. In fact, Valyalin admitted to loving the works of Aivazovsky. There can be no doubt that this visit to the Museum, in addition to his own artistic talent, influenced his decision to become an artist and paint seascapes. Before he realized that dream and attended the Fedoskino Art School, he served for three years in the Soviet Navy on an anti-submarine ship that was stationed in Latvia. Just as experiencing the power of the sea enhanced Aivazovsky's paintings, surely, Valyalin got the same impressions and experiences from sailing with the navy that now enable him to create the wonderful seascapes that he does.
Valyalin finished Fedoskino School of Miniature Painting in 1993. His teachers were such famous artists as V.D. Antonov, V.N. Frolov and N.G. Marchukov.
Valyalin is very concerned about the quality of his work. His painting technique is very traditional, and shows the influence of Russian classical painters especially of Aivazovsky, who himself was influenced by the Romantic period and by Dutch seascapist, Claude Lorraine. Both artists used a method of painting with thin layers of color on the canvas to create a transparent effect, which can also be seen in Valyalin's work.
Alexey prefers to use a cool color palette. His pieces are notable for subtle graphic technique, clear composition, interesting subjects, wonderful color combinations and unique execution.
The Artist lives in Fedoskino.
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