Leonid Afremov (July 1955 to present Russian-Israeli) is a contemporary modern impressionistic painter. In addition to his cat paintings, Afremov paints landscapes, city scenes, seascapes, flowers and portraits.
His modern impressionistic works, done mainly with a palette knife and oils, are based in the colors orange, blue, red and brown and do not vary much from piece to piece. He often includes cats and especially his own cat Max in his paintings.
Born in Vitebsk, Belarus, Russia, his father was a shoe designer and shoemaker. Vitebsk was the same town where Marc Chagall was born, and he had a large influence on Afremov. Afremov studied history and art as well as took private lessons from local artists. His parents noticed his talent and encouraged him. Afremov went on to study at the Vitebsk Education Institute where he participated in numerous exhibitions.
From 1976 to 1990 Afremov held various jobs until he was able to secure freelance work designing posters and creating sculptures. Unfortunately, he was not allowed to be a member of local art associations or to participate in government exhibitions because he was Jewish.
In 1986, the Chernobyl disaster affected Vitebsk and because of anti-Semitism, Afremov decided to immigrate to Israel. After moving to Israel, Afremov got a job making posters and signs for an advertising company. During this time, Afremov tried to sell his works in galleries but was unsuccessful.
In 2002 Afremov moved to the US where his paintings met with better success. He started selling his works on Ebay and through various local TV shows. His paintings began to appear in magazines. In 2007, Afremov launched his own website where you can find his latest paintings today.
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Laura, I absolutely LOVED this artist’s paintings!