olechko

This is an interior of an old apothecary situated at the bottom of Andriyivsky uzviz in Podil. It’s still functioning, selling all kinds of nice organic things, soaps and potions. Some rooms in it function as a museum. This was one of them. I would not have minded to have a study looking like this.

2008 oil on panel 15×15 cm SOLD

2008 oil on panel 15×15 cm

Please email me your bid (starting at $75) if you’d like to own this piece.

I used to live in a building on this corner for two years. It’s quite busy and offers great scene for daily observations. I have tons of sketches of people there, all done from my apartment window. This little oil is of a snowy late night, and of the stop lights reflecting itself onto the pavement, trees and the road… The winter is coming soon.

Copic marker and pen sketches , A4 format 130 lb paper

Please email me your bid (starting at $75) if you’d like to own this piece.

Just sent out a few of my drawings to the mini-exhibit at the Nebesa boutique in Kyiv for the Moleskine in Ukraine project. The exhibit is to take place h at Nebesa boutique on Podil ( on Mezhygirska 9) opening tomorrow night.

From Kyiv:

Sarah reports loads of new and amazing stuff accumulated in the back rooms of the Zeh gallery that she trove for hours thanks for the generosity of the owner Oleksandr.  We are both sharing our regret of not investing into Yuri Pikul’s paintings from last year, which by now rose 7 times in price.

2008 oil on gessoed board 15×15 cm

Please email me your bid (starting at $75) if you’d like to own this piece.

Kyiv 2008 oil on gessoed board 15×15 cm

Please email me your bid (starting at $75) if you’d like to own this piece.

She looked really cold, wayting for her ride; in some ways still maintainting her Kyiv glamour.

2008 oil on hardboard 15×15 cm

Please email me your bid (starting at $75) if you’d like to own this piece.

More impressions from the opening party of MA Fine Art graduate show at Central Saint Martins: fascinated with Erin o’Connor’s paintings on copper plates. This painting is part of my post-Soviet series.

2008 oil on hardboard 15×15 cm

Please email me your bid (starting at $75) if you’d like to own this piece.

Masako Yui stood out from the rest at the Central Saint Martins 2008 MFA opening. As well as it was pleasant to relate to quality abstracts from friends Olga Raciborska and Marc-Alexandre. This painting is part of my post-Soviet series.

15×15 cm, oil on board, 2008, nfs

I was fascinated withBbabylegs product for a while, but realized the winter will be over by the time I get them ordered from the States so I went off improvising.  Roma ended up with a pair of my toe knee socks on, looking quite disheveled and terribly funny. I wonder what he’ll have to say about this number when he grows up, hm…

Everybody in expat community knowns of Inna Panteleymonova art

My current inspiration comes from Caro Niederer’s landscapes that she presents in the context of her living environment.

Oxana Mas is one hot selling pancake in the US art market, a creative young Ukrainian artist, some describe her art more as interior design, but it totally fits my “living with your art” concept.

And finally take a look at the new work by Jeremy Lipking.

15×15 cm, oil on board, 2008, private collection
… selling potatoes and pickles - the typical Ukrainian winter fare. She had the look of dignity and dreaminess in her eyes that can only be compared to that of the Unknown Woman by Kramskoi. The trick must be in the hat.

Speaking of traditional realist painting (which I sure hope to develop s I have more time to spend on each piece), a great young American painter Jeremy Lipking seem to carry on the traditional Russian realist painting with great success.

We’ve met up last night at my place with LittleMissMoi and MindtheGap to size up the apartment for the upcoming exhibit and think of the best way to arrange the works on the walls.

oil on canvas board; 18×24 cm, 2008, private collection

This lady along with many others commute up to Kyiv to sell what her garden produced during the summer for some extra cash. Usually this produce is the freshest and best quality in the market, but one needs to spend more time finding the right “babushka” with the necessary stuff. The kiosks that I’ve been dwelling on recently are an easier target to find (and paint, xo).

Great news, beautiful MindtheGap and LittleMissMoi are taking in their hands the organization of my exhibit at the end of March! Updates are coming soon.

Another interesting artist Alika Cooper is putting out figurative paintings of mobile homes and American devoshkas.

Did I talk enough here about Yuri Solomko? He represented Ukraine at Venice biennale and is most famous for his paintings on maps. Yet have to go see what he came up with for the decoration of the new Hyatt hotel in Kyiv. I hear he put out by himself hundreds of paintings to decorate each and every room in the hotel.