Behind the Canvas: A Wife’s Story
“Behind the canvas of my husband’s artistic journey lies a story of passion, dedication, and transformation. Art is meant to speak to your soul. When you buy a piece of art from an artist, you’re not just buying a beautiful object. You’re buying hundreds of hours of dedicated work, including failures and experimentation You’re buying days, weeks, and months of pure joy. You’re buying a piece of heart, a part of a soul, a small fragment of someone else’s life—our life”
Witnessing the Artist's Transformation
Up Close and Personal
Watching my husband’s artistic journey behind the canvas to becoming an emerging artist has been a wild ride. It’s been rewarding, worrying, and totally unique. Although it’s ultimately his journey, I’ve been so close to it that every emotional roller-coaster, every experiment with colors and techniques, every failure, and every success in his biggest passion—artmaking—has deeply touched and consumed me. Our life together has grown and changed in ways I never imagined.
It’s fun to imagine oneself as an artist’s wife. Everyone must immediately assume you’re the muse who just casually wonders around his atelier half-naked, with a glass of wine in hand. Hair tousled, make-up half-done and the only parts of the day that exist in your artistic coupled life are the blush of done andthe fading light of dusk. No boring parts of the day like the lunch time or the laundry time. You live off love, wine and the occasional smoke basically, always bathed in perfect light. At least, that’s what I used to think. Well… I’ll tell you the real story.
So, the love of my life made the decision – changing life, complete transformation from construction project manager to artist. I, the loving wife, full of understanding, decide to stand by his side and support him wholeheartedly. Right! Were do we begin? Obviously, we needed a space where this life-changing project is going to take place. Finding it became an adventure in itself.
First choice was the mountain lodge where my husband basically likes to party with bunch of his friends, some of whom also managed the lodge—a perfect combo, we thought. The lodge, located on top of a hill in the middle of the woods, seemed like a perfect artist’s studio surrounded by nature – just the way that suits the artist in residence. Soon enough it turned out this was not such a good idea for several reasons, least of all because of the vicinity of the party-loving friends who took great interest in their friend’s artmaking. But not only that! Coming back home with his canvases and paint brushes, he realized he wasn’t prepared for a proper artistic start. He did pick a subject to paint, but when it came to the the story he wanted to tell and the way he wanted it to be portrayed – this was not clear even to him. He returned with a big question mark above his head.
Research, Inspiration and More Research
This is when the research began. Days turned into months of research and game planning. From the idea to simply paint bulls because they are so appealing, because out of all the paintings he did so far his bulls attracted the most attention and compliments; to exploring the story of Ferdinand the flower smelling bull, only to find out about the true life bull Civilon who was the inspiration for this children story, and learning the significance it used to hold as the anti-war book that was banned and burned in Nazi Germany; to becoming completely fascinated by the Civilon’s life. He dived into the history of the bullfighting trying to understand Hemingway’s passion for it, which did not come naturally given my husband’s enormous love for animals. And here I have to illustrate the enormousness of his love for animals for it is not your usual love for animals.
Mind you, my husband does not kill flies and mosquitoes; he catches and releases them. As told by one of his college roommates, they were not allowed to kill mosquitoes above his bed. Over the years they shared the room with number of my husband’s pets: a parrot Cira, rabbit Melissa, Doberman called Space and a Pekingese who loved to sleep under one roommate’s bed and take shit just outside the door so no one coming in or going out would miss stepping in it. And get this! One of Aleksandar’s favorite songs is called “A sky without birds”. It s a good song; a great song in fact! I like it a lot, too. But why does my husband love it? Because it makes him wonder what would a sky without birds look like and what a terrible sight would that be.
Art in Motion
From Mountain Lodges to River Banks: Art Studio Without Walls
After the mountain lodge, we moved the atelier to my parents’ house. Didn’t stay there long because who can truly let loose and be creative under the in-laws’ roof?! Our friend’s vacant apartment had successfully served as an art studio for one whole winter. Towards the end we were able to rent a nice space where my husband managed to do a lot of great work and finish his first two series – Journey and Civilon. While each place had its charm, the nature was and still is his favorite and best atelier. The studio he created on the Koh Chang beach on the Danube is where the magic happened. Surrounded by people and nature brings out the best in him as an artist and a human being.
So you see, these paintings have been on quite a journey themselves. They’ve slept on the beach many a nights, protected and wrapped with so much love and tenderness by my husband. They’ve sailed on boats and traveled in vans, becoming part of our life’s story.
So when you obtain one of these paintings, you are getting all of this.
From Engineering to Art
Balancing Precision and Passion
Aleksandar is a construction project manager who specializes in fit out works where precision is everything. An engineer by education and by the state of mind, he’s got a brain of a mathematician that works in unique ways. While I often say done is better than perfect, he counters with – it has to be the best. The time and attention he puts into every painting are extraordinary. So many times I would think a piece is finished and he would look at me, shaking his head – No, it’s not finished yet. I know exactly what’s missing, but I still can’t figure out how to get it out of me. We visited the Louvre in Abu Dhabi couple of years ago. Obviously fascinated by what I saw, I asked my husband what he thought about one of the paintings. I think it’s not finished, he said. :))
I can’t tell you how many times he would go on painting for hours and hours, days and nights, trying to get it right – and finished. Sometimes ending up completely fucking it up and doing it all over again. Without breaking a nerve, simply trusting the process and enjoying every step of the way.
This is also what you acquire when you own one of his paintings – sleepless nights filled with hard work and joy.
The Power of Art is the Power of Love
Shared Moments and Understanding
I loved visiting my husband in his atelier on the Danube. Every chance I got, I would join him there and I, who never camped before, grew to love sleeping in a tent, sitting by the fire in the evening and waking up to wash my face in the Danube in the morning. Here, at his favorite place in the world, living barefoot and wearing nothing but the bathing suit for days, I realized how priceless the direct contact with nature is.
We’ve had some pretty good times in the Belgrade studio, too. Some of my most treasured memories are when he invites me to the studio just to sit and look at the paintings together. He pulls out all the canvases, plays some music and we simply gaze at them. He explains what’s missing, what doesn’t feel quite right, and where the color palette needs adjusting.
But to be fair, we’ve had some rough times, too. Taking my husband’s art online and finding the rights way to present it was a true challenge. I graduated in communication and public relations so it was only natural that I take on the task of a creative writer and content creator. But I didn’t know what I was doing. We had no idea how to go on about making a website or creating the social media campaign. We had a clue!
I had my own vision, he had his own. Everything was constantly changing and growing in our minds. I would do or suggest something. He would stay quiet, not telling me he doesn’t like it—until he finally does. Over time, I’ve learned to hear and understand his silence.
We’ve argued often times. I wanted to resign from my role as creative writer and content creator, and he wanted to fire me, too. But then I would feel bad and couldn’t accept to be left out from something that is so big and beautiful, so life-changing and important to someone whom I love so much. So, I would try again. I’m still trying.
iPhone Needs to Cool Down
One of the best days we’ve had together on this project is what we fondly call the “iPhone needs to cool down” day. It was a scorching summer day on Koh Chang on the Danube. We arranged a photo shoot on the beach and in Alex’s summer atelier. I’m making it sound cool and professional when in fact it was hell! Two days of blood, sweat and tears – eventually washed off with few cold rose spritzers.
We started early in the morning because, experienced Danube campers that we are, we knew it would become too hot too soon. Set the stage first! Right! Install the easel at the beach. Bring all the paintings nearby but not too close so they are not in the shot. Make one short video, one long video, make few fun videos. Take some horizontal photos and then some vertical ones and then some. You know these influencer girls who torture their boyfriends to take photos for their social media? Exactly like that but in extreme weather. Soon enough, not only the sand was getting too hot, but my iPhone, which we used in lieu of a professional camera, started overheating, as well. The soles of our feet were burning and our not so professional camera was refusing further cooperation, sending us the message – “iPhone needs to cool down”. As if asking – don’t you?! Amazing day! One that we can’t stop talking about. So many great memories (and photos!) were made that day.
The Creative Process
A Never-Ending Journey
This artistic journey is far from over. Aleksandar’s pursuit of perfection in his art continues. Every original painting, every failure, and every success is a testament to his dedication and passion for art. The Colours of Life art webpage is up and running as I write this blog post. It is a quiet evening in our home, Rodriguez playing from the speakers. My husband is sitting across the table, working on another blog post, which you’ll soon be able to read. This blog post was the first one from me, and as I am wrapping it up, I think it is not going to be the last one. Aleksandar hasn’t read it yet… I hope he likes it.
Being part of my husband’s artistic journey has been one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences of my life. It has tested our patience, constantly pushing us out of our comfort zone. It sparked creativity in ways we never expected and brought us closer together. Through it all, I’ve realized that his art is more than just paint on canvas—it’s a living, breathing expression of everything we are and everything we aspire to be. When you look at Aleksandar’s paintings, I hope you’re not just seeing an image—you’re witnessing the embodiment of passion, the struggles, the triumphs, and the stories that shaped each piece of original art.
Let these paintings inspire you to see the world not only as it is, but as it could be.
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