THE ARTIST THAT PAINTS OIL

Two hundred grams of oil, solvent and inspiration is all Azerbaijani artist Sabir Copuroglu needs to create a real masterpiece. The restrained beige and brown palette, as it turns out, can replace the usual bright colours and convey a whole range of emotions. In the hands of the artist, "black gold" blooms with all shades of brown: from pale golden to brownish black. Creating with oil is rather symbolic for Azerbaijan. A member of the Union of Artists of Azerbaijan and Georgia, Sabir COPUROGLU, told R+ where his journey in this extraordinary art began.

- How did you become an artist and come up with the new technique of painting with oil?

- I was born in Georgia, in the village of Angeravan in Borcali District. I was a curious and restless child. I remember that one day someone brought therapeutic Naftalan oil from Azerbaijan for my grandmother whose joints hurt. While no one was looking, I dipped my hands into the viscous brown liquid and left the imprints of my palms on the wall. My grandmother punished me for that. My parents, who worked in Tbilisi at the time, heard about this prank and sent me coloured pencils and a sketchpad. And I began to draw all day long. Naturally, after graduating from school, there was no question about choosing a profession. I went to Baku hoping to enter Azim Azimzada Art College, but alas, I was not lucky - I was late for the entrance exams. Therefore, I decided to enter the Baku State School of Fine Arts, from which I successfully graduated. I took lessons from the famous Azerbaijani sculptor and painter Hamlet Musayev, and Tbilisi I communicated and worked with such renowned artists as Zurab Tsereteli and Merab Berdzenishvili for a long time. In the early 1990s, I decided to move to Baku.

- How did your career in Baku develop? After all, it was a pretty difficult time for our country.

- Indeed, it was a difficult time for Azerbaijan. You had to make a living and to live on. And there was no money for expensive paints and brushes. It was then that I remembered my bad childhood experience in drawing with oil. I went to Bayil where I personally took a bucket of crude oil in oil puddles. I brought it home and began to think how to put oil on paper to keep it from dripping. After all, oil in its pure form is not suitable for drawing, because it dries very badly. After a lot of experimentation, I decided it to boil it down. As a result, unwanted substances evaporate and the necessary concentrate, which is like the syrup of cherry jam, remains. I added artistic varnish and pigment to it and began to draw. By the way, almost immediately after my discovery, I got a patent for my invention. I paint exclusively with my fingers without using a brush. So my fingerprints remain on each picture. And I never make preliminary sketches or drafts - I rely solely on my inspiration.

- I wonder what you dedicated your first "oil" pictures to.

- To my native Borcali and the Caspian Sea: beautiful nature, oil rigs and seascapes. Every night I went to Torgovaya, our artists gathered at that time, and exhibited pictures painted with oil. It was a novelty for everyone, and foreigners were especially surprised. They bought most of my paintings.

- How did you become famous?

- In 2006, I was invited to take part in an international symposium of artists in Erwitte (North Rhine-Westphalia). It was attended by more than 30 artists and sculptors from 16 countries. For my work "Caspian Symphony", drawn with oil, I received a diploma of the first degree. I remember that at that meeting a German came up to me and said that his grandfather used to own oil fields in Baku and my paintings are very close and symbolic to him. He invited me to his home and asked me to draw his horses. On the territory of the house there were stables inhabited by very beautiful and well-groomed horses. My new friend really liked my works, which he added to his private collection. In 2007, the Baku museum Istiqlal hosted my solo exhibition dedicated to the Xocali tragedy. A year later I went to Germany again to take part in the international symposium of artists. I was the only representative of Azerbaijan at this forum, and my works done in oil interested many people. I presented two of my works as a gift to the mayors of Liebstadt and Munster, while the rest were bought by fans of fine art. My art technology was so interesting to visitors that I had to draw several pictures right in the presence of the audience. And in June 2009, about 70 of my works were exhibited at the Baku jubilee international exhibition "Caspian Oil & Gas" organized on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the signing of the "Contract of the Century", which initiated the large-scale development of Caspian oil fields. In the same year, the National Museum of Aktau (Kazakhstan) hosted my solo exhibition. By the way, in the coming year my solo exhibitions will be held in Germany and Turkey.

- Are you using usual paints along with oil?

- I add acrylic, tempera or oil paints to the oil solution. Coloured pictures with a touch of oil come out. But personally, I love the natural colour of oil - thick and rich brown with sheen. The colour of oil is the colour of our land, the brown colour is fertility. Now I have more than 500 works painted with oil. Among them are the series "Abseron", "Borcali", "Azerbaijani Oil", "Ancient Turks" and "The Dream Horse" Most of my paintings are kept in private collections in the USA, UK, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Turkey, Iran, Egypt and Japan. One of the hotels in Naftalan is fully decorated with my works. There are exactly 250 paintings there.

- How many grams of oil do you need to draw one picture?

- It all depends on the workload. For example, a medium-sized picture requires about 200-300 grams of oil.

- Do you have students? Who will you pass your unusual craft to?

- My youngest son Rahim is also an artist. This year, he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Baku and is already learning the oil painting technique from me.

- 2015 is approaching. What will the artist who paints with oil wish our readers?

- First of all I wish you all good health and inner balance. This is perhaps the most important thing in our turbulent times. If you have no money, but have health, you can always earn a living. Harmony in the heart helps to go through life with ease.