B2B Magazine

"It seems to me that nobody is paying attention to artists. We are in the deep shadows – existing, working, they have heard of us, and that is pretty much it. This is due to the lack of a state concept of culture," Bulgarian watercolour artist Atanas Matsoureff said in a BTA interview.
In June, Matsoureff won a gold award at the Rockwell International Watercolour Competition in Canada for his Stones and Salt Water painting.
"I chose to apply for the competition with this painting because I find it very emotionally charged. My freedom is painted in it. I love the endless motion of the sea, its complicated forms and the light on the wet rocks. I painted it in the summer of 2020. I’m not sure it is a work for a competition, but apparently the jury appreciated it, which I am flattered by," he said.

Matsoureff had applied for the competition in the autumn of 2021 at the invitation of the main sponsor of the artwork contest. The jury had to evaluate over 2,000 watercolour masterpieces. A total of 119 artists were awarded for their paintings – 89 from China and 30 from other countries, he told BTA.
Artists overcome their own barriers when participating in competitions like this, which is important. They compete with other accomplished artists from all over the world, which helps them understand where they stand, Matsoureff noted.
"I was able to see some of the awarded works and, in my opinion, the level of the participants was very high. Watercolour painting has become increasingly popular in the last 10 or 15 years. It is a technique with endless possibilities and its trends are across the whole spectrum – from abstract to hyper-realistic works," he said.
Matsoureff often says that watercolour painting is more about waiting for the right moment than painting. "It is an extremely difficult technique, difficult to control, requiring utmost concentration and dedication, so the artist cannot afford to be calm while painting. At least this is how it is for me," he explained.
In his words, nature is perfect, it is the best teacher, and everything in it is beautifully composed, harmonious and balanced. "For me, beauty can be found in simple things and in the marks of the past," Matsoureff said.
Atanas Matsoureff was born in Bansko (Southwestern Bulgaria) in 1975. He graduated from the woodcarving class in his native town. Matsoureff works entirely in the field of watercolour painting, his preferred subjects being landscapes, still life and portraits. He illustrated two books published in Canada and his paintings are owned by private collections and galleries in Bulgaria, Spain, Turkey, Great Britain, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Norway, France, Hungary, Italy, China, Russia, Germany and the United States. He is an International Masters of Watercolor Alliance member, as well as a representative of Bulgaria in it.

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