Larissa Morais was born and raised in Moscow, and started out pursuing music, not painting. That changed almost by accident: helping her sister with an art assignment turned into a passion she hadn't seen coming, one serious enough to earn her a BFA from the Moscow Theatrical Arts Institute, followed by training in the restoration of 15th and 16th century paintings.
That restoration background shows. Morais paints in thin layers of oil on black canvas, building hyper-realistic figures with an architect's precision and a restorer's patience. Each piece starts as a sketch and grows into something lush and unguarded, work that reflects her subject and, just as much, herself. Ask her which painting is her favorite, and she'll tell you: always the one she's currently working on.
