Sabbi Gavrailov is a self-taught artist from Bulgaria. He originates from the town of Brezovo which is also the birthplace of two iconic Bulgarian artists: Zlatyu Boyadzhiev, who died in 1976 and is known for his portraits and landscapes depicting the village life in the region, as well as Mincho Katsarov, an artist celebrated in France but virtually unknown in his home country.
 
Sabbi relates to Zlatyu Boyadziev through his great grandfather who was Zlatyu’s close cousin. He strongly believes talent comes from the roots of the family. There are striking similarities found between the landscape painting style of Sabbi Gavrailov and Zlatyu Boyadzhiev. In his early days, Sabbi also took lessons in the atelier of another famous contemporary artist from the Plovdiv region Geno Lazarov.

Sabbi graduates from the Vocational School of Architecture and Geodesy in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in 1996. In 2003 he settles in the UK and two years later acquires a Professional Diploma in Digital Photography from The Institute of Photography (IOP) in London.

“My college years gave me a different perspective on art while I studied architecture. Then I got drawn to digital photography very quickly and I felt the need to study further to get the most out of it.  I got my diploma in digital photography and this opened a different world, through the lens.     Now inevitably the painting and photography for me go hand in hand”

A fascination with digital photography over the past decade has helped to encourage his love of travel photography as well as his favourite subject Portraiture. Despite always wanting to become an artist one day, the opportunity had never really presented itself until recent events of his father’s death back home in Bulgaria seemed to unleash a creative outpouring of emotion.

“As if my mind was reprogrammed overnight, it is unexplainable, I might have produced about 50 paintings in the past year alone”

He now receives commissions for classic portraits as well as stunning still-life paintings as well as landscapes.
Some of his paintings are in private collections in The United Kingdom, The Middle East, and Bulgaria.

“I see no sign of stopping, quite the opposite"

Spurred on by his friends’ enthusiasm for his work, he has become an active member of the Art guild in Hertfordshire, where he now has an online gallery, exhibits regularly, and takes an active part in the local art community.

“I constantly experiment with different styles of painting and push myself to learn new techniques. I love to paint portraits, seascapes, and landscapes. I feel the power of nature and human expression around me: it is the greatest inspiration one can find and I express it through my paintings.”