Vladan Ignatovic was born in Nis, Yugoslavia in 1955. His family was rife with artistic talent, but nobody took it up as a profession.  As a young boy Vladan preferred the ever present pencil and papers to any toy. Despite his obvious inclination towards art he was urged by his parents to study the more practical field of engineering. Nonetheless Vladan continued to draw and paint.  During the summer months he studied painting and printmaking amongst professionals. By the time he finished his studies and settled in Belgrade, he was a fulltime artist. 

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Vladan arrived in Toronto, Canada in 1993.  He went to on painting murals and began participating in local art exhibitions.  Two years later he started his career creating backgrounds for the growing digital imagery industry in Toronto. Since 1995 he has worked providing background imagery in the animation industry in Ontario. His latest work may be seen in the animated series, "Anne of Green Gables", released by Sullivan Entertainment. He continues to paint. 

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Vladan paints mostly women; not portraits, the works are more archetypes of femininity. He uses thick impasto oil paint technique and avoids any realistic illusions. Instead he emphasizes a two dimensional quality in his work. He invites the viewer to the subject through an emphatic use of color. His colors are inspired by the Mediterranean and he consciously manipulates them to create moods of joy and warmth as well as more introspective, cool, reflective themes. His objective is to capture the dignity of the form and surround it with warm, sensual, abstract spaces.

 

Vladan usually starts his paintings with pencil sketches, sometimes with tonal studies. He then approaches the canvas with acrylic, playing with both under-painting and texture.  These random “distractions” actually help him to work untroubled. After achieving some balance in tonal and hue values, he either switches to the oil, or finishes it in acrylic, trying to do minimal work at the last stage.