olha pryymak

The city walls are closing in on my skyscapes. I do love the subject though and only putting it away for some time.

Leadenhall market is beautiful passage in the City. Very original and often painted place, gathers a buffing number of people in suits since it’s sitting in between some of the tallest highrises in the City – the Gherkin and the Lloyds building (the latter faintly visible in the background here).

Looking around the Bank intersection, chock full of old and new architecture contrasts. See more paintings of it below.

2011, oil on panel, 19 x 19 cm, purchase it via Etsy

Here the building, designed by Jean Nouvel opens up to – and multiplies in its reflections – the magnificent dome of St. Paul’s. The look of it all is a bit busy for my taste, but in my book glass and mirrors beat plain blocks of concrete.

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When on this spot, one usually turns the head the other way – where the magnificent St. Paul’s cathedral opens up to the view. Interesting how the buildings depend on the environment around them, it’s almost the uglier things around them – the likelier your building is to be noticed. When in company of another magnificent edifice, this little Wren church tends to get lost in my view. I think when displaying art on the wall, it’s the other way around, the nicer the paintings next to you, the better impression your own makes to the viewer. What do you think?

St. Vedast, Foster Lane, 2011, oil on panel, 19 x 19 cm, available via Etsy (105 gbp)

Playing with the idea of how the old and new buildings in the City of London interact with each other. It is said that all new buildings are designed so they do not obstruct the views over the old landmarks. For some reason I reacted to that notion quite a bit and would like to learn more about the subject.

I walk down that street nearly every week. It suddenly lit up with crisp direct sunlight and magic began.

When I look at art, I usually associate it with some piece of music, a song or a tune. If you do the same, can you share a tune that comes to your head when you look at these sunshine paintings?

Working out my understanding of beauty in art. Its devilishly complicated. Seems like our language is insufficient to explain it in words. This is my stab at it to explain it to myself:
Aesthetic beauty of a scene can not be measured and is different for a different viewer. It is a reaction, a feeling that helps perceive a piece of art in certain way. The viewers arrive with a set of social and cultural values that shape this aesthetic perception. This perception can be shared by a group of people where it is deemed more or less universal, but that changes with time. We live in the age where this perception is very individualistic, everybody has their say and its equally important. This led to broadening the scope of what is perceived as beautiful art… I feel like I’d rather get to painting now.

Moorgate sunshine IV, 2011, oil on panel, 20 x 20 cm, sold