olha pryymak

Here is the last of the series of the Leeds castle paintings. You can now see it and all it’s predecessors in my Etsy shop in more detail.  I love them all so much I hoarded a while to see them displayed together. Now though I am offering them up for sale, mind though, they do like each others’ company and would look best in groups of two or three.

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.

Don’t forget to rush out and get your copy of National Portrait Gallery What’s On publication for my self-portrait on the cover.

Now to vegetables from this week’s vegbox from Leila’s:

 

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.

Not complaining about the lack of sun any more. It’s here and others noticed it too.  Today’s picture is of stylish market goers, flaunting their summer garb.

2011, oil on panel, 19 x 19 cm, contact for availability

other pics from the Broadway market series:

Since I am seeing the theme forming in my work, ill be marking post headers with something like “Vitamin D” every time I paint sunshine from now on. This painting is one such case – love the direct sunshine onto the stalls of the Leila’s shop in Shoreditch. Unlike the ugly Hackney road though, this is one place that does not need sunshine to appear pretty and attractive.

Also, all the displayed veggies and fruit bring home the point that our life would be pretty miserable without sunshine (although not totally impossible; see David Attenborough’s First Life on first signs of life appearing on this planet deep in the seas near volcanic vents).

2011, oil on panel, 15 x 15 cm, sold

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I’ve painted this image of Karl Marx grave in this perspective because I wanted to show it in its surroundings, with many other graves very closely placed together actually. And yet, this is a very misleading picture in a way that it looks about the same size then other tombstones, when in fact, it’s much larger then most of the tombstones surrounding it.

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

I often get comments on why do I leave out the detail of the face.  The reason is simple – when I saw this scene, the light was what is important in it, the bright rays of sunshine basing the pavement. People who cut though this light are here to emphasize it and demonstrate it’s beauty. They are part of the scene, but human faces are so powerful and so attractive to the eye, that if I focus on their faces, the scene will become about them rather then the light.

First painting of 2011.  Glad to be back after taking time off. During the past ten days I only drew a few watercolors, nothing else. Saw some great meanwhile though and very antsy to put out more work here.

2011, oil on panel, 15 x 15 cm,  sold