Sergey Vasilyevich Veselkov is a master of Ural lacquer painting on metal, renowned for his works based on the traditional stenciling technique. He was born in Nizhny Tagil in 1963. After graduating from school, he enrolled in a technical vocational school where he studied tray painting. He served his apprenticeship at the Emalposuda (Enamelware) factory which was reviving the Ural art of tray painting. There, he studied under the guidance of Agrippina Vasilyevna Afanasyeva, a renowned craftswoman who had mastered the two-color brushstroke technique.

In 1981, Sergey Veselkov enrolled at the School of Art and Graphics of the Nizhny Tagil State Pedagogical Institute. In 1988, after serving in the military, he returned to the Emalposuda factory in Nizhny Tagil. The same year, he was invited to join the workshop’s creative team by Gennady Petrovich Babin. There, he designed various types of stencils.

After the factory was shut down, Sergey Veselkov took up teaching and administrative work in creative organizations, while also continuing to paint trays. He started actively displaying his works at various exhibitions, from local to international ones. In 1999, he was awarded the title “Master of the Year in Decorative and Applied Arts” at the First Nizhny Tagil Competition Named After the Khudoyarov Dynasty. He won in the “Stenciling” category. In 2004, he once again became the winner in the same category at the Sixth Competition. In 2012, Sergey Veselkov received a diploma at the National Competition of Ural Crafts in the “Metal and Wood Painting” category.

Sergey Veselkov designed the “Rowan Berry” tray in 2006 using his signature stenciling technique. The background of the tray imitates the malachite color palette. A special effect was achieved with the help of the smoking technique. The design of the tray indicates that the artist has mastered all the aspects of the smoking technique as he used various sources of smoke: birch bark, candles, and kerosene.