Drawings of Nicholas Chistiakov are often minimalist compositions executed by the several elegant pencil lines. In his works, especially drawings, the artist often strives to achieve maximum effect by the minimal means. He is also interested in the decorative role of art and it's design. Themes of his drawings are mostly figurative compositions: man, women, skeletons and mythical monsters, which the artist portrays in the variety of forms. Some of the drawings are academically inspired and classical, but commonly the artist's style is the modernist drawing executed by the few accurate and characteristic lines. Drawings of the artist resonate with some of his paintings.
His Drawings reminiscent of those art historical examples by Pablo Picasso, Francisco Goya, Willem De Kooning and Henry Matisse yet Chistiakov's personal style is a quite recognizable and personal.
"I like to draw something inspired by occurrences in real life. My subject, even most mythical ones are drawn from life - situations and experiences. I tend to avoid naturalism, any sort of it. It is really easy to get into some sort of kitsch with the drawing. In fact it is more difficult to sell to the public something what is primary and simple - but i do not make anything just to please the public, i might try to educate my audience as well. I think issue of importance of art is deeply connected with the uniqueness of art. In the age of mass production, when everything could be manufactured in thousands items and really easy, it is really difficult to conceive singular objects of importance, both, social and economical. It is almost impossible. In my drawings i try take everything that relates to the photographical and accidentally naturalistic out of the artistic game. My purpose is to generate designs which is unique, relatively simply to understand and still interesting for a viewer. Regardless if it is a woman's face, couple of lovers or mythic monster, i try to make them uniquely my own. I have different goals in my other lines of work: in painting i explore both, illusion of material world and the darkness of human soul, my drawings are rather about creation of the cosmos of new worlds, unknown and mysterious."