olechko

2008 oil on panel 15×15 cm

Here’s another reflection on our tram trip to Podil. And about the summer. The bus (tram) stops are always full of interesting characters to check out.

Yuri Pikul for whom we (with Mindthegap)  developed gread appreciation after his first solo at Zeh this time has put out amazing figurative paintings. Check it out!

2008 oil on panel 15×15 cm

She’s picking up a croissant for a customer. Seemed very much into what she was doing.  Love to observe the pride that small traders, owners of their business take. These s so much more relevance and importance in her moves then say, in the hired newspaper seller’s at the neighboring stall.

2008 oil on panel 15×15 cm

This is a bit of a childish rendition of a great idea.  Love the trams - those super slow public transport thingies in Kyiv that crawl slow-slow along the old streets. Number 15 goes from Ploscha Peremogy to Podil.   With our fascination with trains, we had to take this one just for the kicks, although it takes twice less time to just walk to Podil from our old place.

2008 oil on panel 15×15 cm

Mmm, with the arrival of cold weather, chocolates and sweets are all on my mind. I got this luscious box from my mom earlier. Ukrainians are big on their sweets. You can hardly show up at anybody’s doorstep without a box of some. The cakes (tort) is an altogether different story that needs another post

2008 oil on panel 15×15 cm

Last flowers of the year - Roma ate one accidently before he properly learned to blow at it. Not a pleasant experience from what I could decipher.

2008 oil on panel 15×15 cm

The fall is here, so are the apples!  This was the first crop on our farm in Lutsk, so it was Romchyk’s first apple picking experience.

2008 oil on panel 15×15 cm

Hannuska showed up one night at the Maydan club (Lutsk, Ukraine) in her great grand mother’s shirt (it was a folk band playing that night). The richness of embroidery gave away it’s origins. 

2008 oil on hardboard 15×15 cm

After some trial and error, I have started taking a closer look at my subjects, therefore this watermelon lady’s head is cropped. there is no way I can give credit to all the fine detail on such a small format: 15×15 cm. Hopefully this closer look will divert more attention to doing right the things that do make it to the picture. 

2008 oil on hardboard 15×15 cm

I am loving the religious theme going on right now.  It’s really hard to depict the grins on people’s faces there in such small format. The priest blessed the people pictured behind with some blessing water and so they look soaking wet and happy. 

A while back Ukrainian Museum of Russian art had on a Soviet Art retrospective (link leads to some of the better examples, although the text is in Ukrainian). 

2008 oil on gessoed board 15×15 cm