„Painting is magic. Once you get into it you forget about time and reality”, contends artist Lidia Kireva who is known for using the unconventional technique of finger painting. Lidia lives in the village of Tsalapitsa near the City of Plovdiv and usually paints during night time. Her days are full of care of children and of work to make a living. Her artworks are the romantic part of her life that rescues her from the monotony of everyday living. „I can go on painting all night till daybreak and I even do not feel the passage of time”, she says.

Lidia showed talent for painting already in her early years. Her parents though thought she should not go to a specialized school so she spent long years away from art. At a certain point however, the creative spirit prevailed, and she started painting.

„I kept some tempera paints that had to wait to be used. A year ago I felt that the paintings should come out of my mind and come to occupy the white canvas. I started painting on cardboard by applying paint directly with my fingers. I am not keen on paintbrushes. I asked other painters about finger painting, like one of the first in this method in Bulgaria, Stefka Boyadzhieva. She has many followers and one of them, Mirela Asenova, assisted me in my first attempts. I started painting every night after everybody at home had gone to bed.”

Lidia Kireva has enjoyed commercial success too. Her works have been bought by art lovers in England and Germany. The unconventional paintings are not often part of exhibitions but viewers can see them on Lidia’s website.

„People like the pictures. It seems they emanate energy. I apply paint and only then I decide how to go on with the images. Once I decide where to start from, the picture comes readily in front of my eyes. When I start painting I do it without effort. Most often I paint flowers in various shapes but always with plenty of color and emotion. I love nature, it is everywhere around me. My paintings with flowers mirror my inner world. They speak up for me. I want my paintings to bring people joy, warmth and pleasure. The message that I want to convey is that we, humans, need the goodness of others most. This is the power that charges us with energy, faith and optimism. My success confirms the proverb, “When there is a will, there is a way.” Painting is the greatest miracle in my life. I am grateful to my family because they support me, appreciate my work and encourage me to go on with art.”

Photos: courtesy of Lidia Kireva