Vlad Kolas "Study of Vanessa"

VLAD KOLAS by Fiona Baker (journalist) Prize-winning painter, Vlad Kolas, is moving about his studio, brush in hand, music blaring, when I appear at the door one hot afternoon. Startled, he turns and jumps off the ground and walks over, wiping his hands with a rag. Music is a crucial element to Vlad’s artistic practice, giving him energy and inspiration. Growing up in Bondi Beach, Vlad loved surfing and music, and tried his hand at carpentry before he realised it wasn’t going to deliver him the creative and career freedom he desired. It was Vlad’s partner Jessica, a glass artist, who recognised Vlad’s talent and prompted him to study art instead. Vlad’s mother and grandfather were both artists, and he had absorbed much of their skills and knowledge but hadn’t paid it too much attention. Vlad spent two years at the National Art School in Sydney, learning a lot about drawing, before moving to Lismore to continue his studies at Southern Cross University, where he majored in oils and painting. “It was a bit more self-directed, which is good for me, because I already had the drawing under my belt,” he says. Vlad was awarded the Northern Rivers Portrait Prize in 2012, Oils on Canvas 125 x 125cms