Anastasia Khoroshenko

Your artistic journey started at a young age with jewelry making and origami. How did these early creative experiences shape your development as an artist?

Artistic and creative development forms the creator, develops imagination, memory, fine motor skills, teaches to think. It also develops artistic and imaginative thinking, teaches you to see the beautiful and portray it in one way or another. Any kind of creativity from an early age develops your potential and you realize that this path is limitless. Trying something new every time is like discovering a new world. I started with various crafts from beads, origami, children’s coloring books, plasticine, later came to attempts at drawing. At this stage I’m also learning other crafts, trying something new. Sometimes I even try to combine drawing and other crafts in one. Such as my recent food paintings, where I used napkins and glue for shape and standard painting as a base. Or a decorative painting where the base is hot glue, also for shape. There are so many ideas! Practicing different crafts broadens your horizons and you try something new every time. Yes, it is not always something incredible, not always successful, but it is an invaluable experience, from which you take out for yourself something new and important for future projects, which one day will be really unique.

What inspired you to transition from drawing to creating content on TikTok? Did you anticipate the level of success you’ve achieved on the platform?

TikTok, at that time Musical.ly, was starting to gain popularity. I downloaded it and started exploring, of course I was curious about it. My drawing skills were not the strongest at that time, but I saw some artists sharing their art in this application. So without any expectations I decided to shoot a couple of my drawing processes. I didn’t expect any super popularity or recognition, moreover at that moment I perceived my activity as a temporary hobby (as you can see I was drawn in). What was my surprise when I saw that my videos started gaining a huge number of views and I decided to continue. A great way to express myself, I thought! 🙂

Your first viral video involved drawing oranges. Why did you choose this subject, and how did it feel to see your work resonate with over a million people?

I didn’t have the opportunity to learn to draw at that time and I watched various artists on YouTube. One of those artists was Marcello Barenghi, an Italian artist and illustrator known for his “more realistic than life” drawings and paintings. I was awed by such skills. I marveled and didn’t understand how it was possible to create such a hyperrealistic subject on a piece of paper. I turned on his video, analyzed all his steps “from” and “to” and practiced on my own piece of paper, using and analyzing the techniques I saw. When I started sharing my videos on social media and saw such a response from people I thought: “I’m on the right track.”

You’ve gained a significant following by painting food and celebrities. What draws you to these subjects, and how do you choose what to paint next?

I can be inspired by literally anything, a person, music, a movie, a cartoon and even food. As a consequence, I draw it. Moreover, I can initially be insanely inspired by a song, associate it with some object, person or phenomenon and only after that draw, make a video, adding that very song. Mood, emotions, dreams, external stimuli and even hunger in the moment determine what I will draw. It’s like a snap of a finger or a light bulb turning on in my head, accompanied by the thought: “What if I draw/paint this..?»

As a self-taught artist, what have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in perfecting your craft? How did you overcome them?

Like all artists I faced criticism, both constructive and destructive. Sometimes it helped, and sometimes it brought me into a state of frustration. It used to happen that you spend all your inner resources on your work and it would seem that the inner source is completely exhausted, you have done everything possible and yet you get a negative response, more often destructive. It’s exhausting. From here comes the next factor that I had to face and still have to face to this day — burnout. The only way you can deal with it is to just give yourself time and rest. Switch to a completely different activity to shake up the brain work from the same activity and free your head to let new ideas come in. Or simply allow yourself to procrastinate for a few days. These are the methods by which I save myself.

How do you balance your studies at the International Humanitarian University with your work as a social media star and artist?

Last year I graduated with honors from the university and received a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design. I am now a certified professional. During my studies it was really difficult to combine all these activities, especially during exam periods. I tried to allocate my time wisely so that I could do as much as possible. I managed it and now I am completely free.

Social media can be a double-edged sword. How do you handle the pressure of maintaining such a large online presence?

If I’m going through a bad period and experiencing negative emotions I prefer to either put it on canvas or isolate myself for a period of time to live my emotions in all colors and understand how I should move forward, what I want or don’t want.

Your content has inspired many young artists around the world. What advice would you give to aspiring artists who are just starting out?

I would advise a trivial but important thing — don’t be afraid and try. Try until the “inner self” is satisfied as much as possible. Accept the fact that there will be both positive and negative, but it should not be a decisive factor in your life, because only you build your world laying out an invisible brick from which something common is created. Follow your heart and don’t turn around.

What role do you think social media plays in the modern art world, and how has it influenced your artistic style and career?

Social media in the modern art world is a gateway to incredible opportunities. You can show yourself, express yourself, find like-minded people. It’s much easier to show yourself now than it used to be. And the probability of being noticed is much higher. Both novice artists and professionals can show themselves. That includes me. Once the video resonated with people, it gave me an incredible burst of strength and energy to continue my journey. And I am insanely grateful for it and the opportunities that have opened up for me.

Looking ahead, what are your future goals as an artist? Are there any new projects or styles you’re eager to explore?

I have a lot of ideas in my head! The question of realization is more difficult. I want to start creating something new, interesting, authentic. I am still on the way of studying myself, new styles and techniques. And soon I want to find my own style, creating full-fledged big paintings on canvases. I want my father whom I lost recently to be proud of me. So I take myself in hand and move only forward. To love, to create and to inspire.