Sabir Chopurov was born in Borchali (Georgia) in 1956. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Tbilisi. Though he created his first works with oil paintings, he then decided to use oil itself as his main medium. He remembers a time when his grandmother was being treated with “oil treatment”, and would carry the smell back home with her. For this reason, he began painting with oil.
Since that time, all of his works are drawn with oil. In times of shortages, he takes his oil directly from wells in Bayil. His friends and acquaintances are able to organize the sales for him.
It takes a long time to turn oil into a suitable paint. He even patented his own technique with Azerbaijan’s State Standards and Patenting Agency in 2008.
It is mostly foreign tourists that show interest in his paintings, the price of which changes according to size and content, ranging from 100 manat to 3,000. Since Azerbaijanis themselves have not shown such a great interest in his work, the majority of his buyers are foreigners. He has had exhibitions in France, Italy, Germany, the USA and other countries.
