Amy, Circa 2000

Victor Nemo  

Victor Colesnicenco grew up in Chisinau, the capital city of Moldova. This Eastern European nation is known for it's rich artistic heritage. Nemo, as he is known to his friends, remembers being fascinated by the carvings and other craft works that surrounded him.

In particular he loved paintings, and from an early age he was determined to become an artist. Nemo began intense inquiry into the style and techniques of the famous painters. He was particularly impressed by the work of Ivan Shishkin and Salvador Dali. He enrolled in art school but did not enjoy the strict academic style of the Russian based academy. Knowing that a standard education was not for him, he abandoned it to pursue training on his own.

His talent quickly flourished and soon he was organizing large outdoor art fairs to show his work and that of other young artists. At this point in his life Nemo enlisted in the Soviet Army where he served for two years. After completing his tour, his motivation to become a professional artist was rediscovered. Together with a good friend he started a business restoring works of art and painting murals in churches. The reemergence of religious freedom in the post-Soviet era offered many opportunities for their business to flourish.