I was born in Odessa, Ukraine and came to America at the age of six. At the age of 13, I pronounced myself as a lifelong student of art.

In 2003, I began studying at the Watts Atelier of the Arts in Encinitas, California, where I got most of my arts training. After attending the Watts Atelier for many years, my focus shifted from animation to fine art painting.

In 2012 I started Proko and began teaching and filming online art lessons. Today I help teach people all over the world how to be artists.