Valtcho Tonov is a mostly self-taught artist who was born in Bulgaria. He became seriously interested in art at the age of sixteen when his family relocated to Plovdiv.
After moving to the United States in 2001, he soon settled in Louisville, Kentucky. Valtcho has continued his studies under the tutelage of renowned artists such as John Michael Carter, Phil Starke and others. He is part of an ongoing uninstructed figurative drawing/painting workshop at Mellwood Art Center in Louisville.
A passionate Plein Air painter, he can be seen painting around Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, and Bulgaria. He is a member of the Plein Air Painters of KY. As a full time painter his repertoire includes landscapes, still life, abstract ,sporting and figurative. He draws inspiration from The Russian School - Repin, Serov, Fechin, etc. , and the American realist painters Sargent, Schmid, Hassam, and many others.
