Bakygeldy learnt to draw and paint at an early age, especially as there was no lack of paints and colored pencils at the art teacher’s home. His father always checked out his drawings, sometimes he offered helpful advice, but quite often, he nodded his head approvingly. Once, when Bakygeldy took up table tennis and gave up drawing, his father said strictly to him, ‘You should choose what you want in life, son, and work towards your goal every day.’ And Bakygeldy resumed drawing.

In 2013, on leaving general education school, Bakygeldy, without attending art school, applied for admission to the State Academy of Arts of Turkmenistan. Despite very strong competition for places, the student applicant from Babadaikhan was accepted into the Academy as soon as the admission board saw his drawings.

If he is such a gifted artist, and his father’s unobtrusive guidance was an adequate substitute for formal training at an art school, how important is the Academy for his professional formation as an artist? We asked sixth-year student Bakygeldy this question:

- I have learned a wealth of useful skills thanks to my teachers Ashir Kuliev and Atageldy Serdarov. What is more, the Academy’s atmosphere and its curriculum, which also includes competitions, exhibitions and visits to studios of leading artists of Turkmenistan, contribute to creative development significantly. This does not mean his father’s guidance is not provided any longer. When I come home for the summer holidays, I always bring my paintings and drawings created during the academic year. As before, my father looks at them carefully and nods his head in approval.

The Academy of Arts gallery is currently running an exhibition of works by final-year student Bakygeldy Sytdykhov. It makes a lasting impression on the minds of all those who visit it. Let see an example in the artist’s self-portrait. In general terms, it is considered to be a portrait bust of an artist; however Bakygeldy has painted the full-length self-portrait. In addition, he holds his hand out to offer a handshake as if saying, “Let me introduce myself. My name is Bakygeldy Sytdykhov!” Bakygeldy takes such an original and ingenious approach to his every creation.

The artist’s painting ‘A Dream’ was created for the contest dedicated to Durdy Bayramov. Bakygeldy was working on it at home during the holidays, and his little niece, who truly wanted her uncle to get first place, fell asleep amidst the catalogue of Durdy Bayramov and pencil sketches...

Although Baky did not win the contest, this heartwarming and charming painting shows that the theme can be addressed from such an unusual angle.

Next in line is ‘A Capricious Girl’, which depicts a girl with her back turned to the viewer. It is not important what the little girl has taken offense at. What really matters is she has turned her back on the world and does not feel like seeing or hearing anyone. The little girl’s ‘protesting’ back is a dominant theme of the painting.

Bakygeldy does not feel like creating like other artists; he looks for something new and different, something nobody has ever painted before, and he tends to do it in his own unique way. This is how a painting featuring a pair of training shoes was born. Who else could have come up with an idea of painting the fashionable sports shoes?! Why not, on the other hand? After all, trainers are creatively designed by designers, whose ideas are brought to life by shoe manufacturers!

Bakygeldy Sytdykhov’s “Three Apples” is a photorealism painting with one green and two red apples on a plate. They are beautiful in their own right, without any interpretation. However, the artist sees them as different stages of a woman’s life: a little girl, an adolescent girl and a young woman.

As for the style, Agajan Rejepov, in his own time, was one of the first students at the Academy of Arts to adopt photorealism. He created a pencil portrait of his teacher - “Sculptor Edi Madatov”. His drawing turned out wonderfully expressive and artfully executed. And the Academy students fell in love with the style. Bakygeldy Sytdykhov was among them. The exhibition features the young artist’s works in pencil with “My Father” and “A Self-Portrait” standing out from the others.

- Baky, these are your final days at the Academy, what plans do you have for the future?

- I am going to join the army.

- Great! It means that a new series of works by Bakygeldy Sytdykhov inspired by the daily life of soldiers will await us in the near future. We are looking forward to it.