About me

My name is Calin Zainea, an emerging artist out of Montreal, Canada, originally from Bucharest, Romania. I am by training a biochemist, with no academic training in art. If anything, fine arts were my least favorite subject in school. Although, I must say I always had a passion for writing, which was never really cultivated by either parents or teachers.

 

My fine art journey started in August 2024, when I started drawing as an outlet for grief, after the loss of a child.  It started as merely doodling, to keep my mind from wandering too far into darkness. It kept me grounded, focused, and connected to the world around me, it allowed me to see purpose, in  a sense. 

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​The doodles then turned into shaky, disproportionate portraits and figure drawings. I studied Youtube videos on the Loomis method, freehand drawing, shading, and slowly started working on technique. Although it is not my medium of choice, I've done the Inktober challenges, which improved creativity, and the self-confidence I needed as an artist. Portraits started to look crisp, I started taking more risks with my drawing, and I have been enjoying the process ever since.
 

The grief never went away, and it likely never will, but it has settled. down. The drawing passion never dropped, it stayed, like an old friend, always present, always ready to provide companionship. 
 

In terms of mediums, I started on graphite, likely pretty common for new artists. It's accessible, safe, easy to use. I am taking a traditional approach to medium transitions: graphite to charcoal to Grisaille to paint.  Right now I am working more and more with charcoal, I tried my hand at Grisaille painting (acrylic), and learning colour mixing, moving slowly in the painting world.