olha pryymak

While it’s hardly sunny to be looking up at the skies (for Skywatching) , and the grand interiors are cooking in the background, I am staring a new series today, preliminarily called “People I know”.  Let’s see where it takes me; I plan to paint one a day for the following 30 days.  If any of you good people would like to volunteer for a quick sketch for the daily painting, contact me.

Today’s first subject is Sasha, super smart and intelligent doctorate student at Southampton University and my little brother.

I have not led the count before, but this is number 10 of my Skywatching paintings, ever since I looked up above. Which started on vacation. I suspect the idea would not have dawned at me if I stayed in London all summer. But since I’ve been back here there were a couple of beautiful clear days so I am counting them on.

more Skywatching here: 

My favorite place for a rewarding shot of macciato is at the Pavillion Cafe in Victoria Park. Nevermind it’s a construction site at the moment preceding the Olympics 2012, the pond and the foliage delights every time.

In the past three days pianist James Rhodes has performed  on this exquisite Steinway piano at the Riflemaker gallery. The instrument literally took up half of the space of the gallery’s ground floor. The rest was left to the revelers of the beautiful music. The lovely gallery director Tot Taylor also granted us a preview of the gallery’s offerings for the upcoming Frieze Art fair.

The glass and steel structures give a perfect opportunity to concentrate on the skies above.

more skywatching:

Popped in to Cowling & Wilcox today for fresh art supplies, spotted this scene across the street from the shop.

With the BP portrait award and the RA summer show excitement settling down, I am back to my brushes with another Leeds castle image. My favorite mars orange oil paint, that helps me add that warm color I love so much, is nearly finished. Anxiously awaiting for that package in the mail my mom had to post urgently from Ukraine. Do tell me if you see any Saint Petersburg Neva oil paints for sale in London.

Today’s painting is second of the account of the Arnold Day in Shoreditch that took place last weekend. Like these because of the bright patterns created by the flags, associates well with my balloons series, plus the light was divine that day.

I am already planning another trip to Lviv in my mind, this keeps fueling my interest in painting more of the beautiful city. The fountain sculpture of Diana (1793) and her dogs on the Market square in Lviv was restored with the help of public donations a few years back after one of the dogs lost his paw. These table and chairs in the painting belong to the cafe By the Diana surrounding the beautiful fountain. I miss spending Thursday nights there drinking chilled kvas from heavy glass beer mugs and watching street dancers making their moves.