olha pryymak

First painting of the year – completed today. So glad to be back in London and doing my daily painting routine again, this is where the current story is set.

There is a quiet park hidden away off Brick Lane that offers a sweeping view of the city skyline and the clouds over the new overground  rail link in London.  Try to never miss it on my regular trips to Atlantis art supplies shop. Keep looking up the skies.

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.

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:

Usually a buzzing place, there was no one inside the cafe today, all sunning themselves outside, lingering over their coffees and cakes, irrespective of the very ugly at the moment lake outside, all emptied out, fenced in, with pigeons basing in last remaining water. I think the builders will have us stuck with the site for the rest of the summer. Still, need for the sun prevails and we unflappably take our coffee outside.

I am finally back from my two-week break, wonderfully spent in the West of Ukraine. In between enjoying the traditional Easter celebrations and spending time with friends, I’ve collected a mass of material for new work, related to my trip, but not only.

Today’s painting is of the bee farm my father keeps. The change of season happens in Ukraine a few weeks later then in the UK, so the mood of the picture is still solemn, grayish; bees just come out of the hibernation for the first time this spring. More about them in the next few days.

The other night I have came along with Leila on a market run to the New Covent Garden market. The Gentle Author is going on one such trip this week. I cant wait to read the Spitalfields Life’s impressions about it. Must confess mine are pretty bleary-eyed, I believe I am still recovering from the lack of sleep. The market is so visually astonishing though I am thinking of painting more of it in the future.

If you’d like, sign up to get my painting updates in your mailbox (I try to complete one each working day). No posts for a while though as I am off to Ukraine for a couple of weeks.

Now that the BP portrait award show participation (not with this pic though) has dawned on me, I’ve put together a flickr set of my portraits that I’ve done to date.  I am still beyond myself about this happening to my work, can’t wait till the private view of the show in June to meet all the other artists in it. Don’t have the photo of the self-portrait that is going to be hung at the National Portrait Gallery  to show off here, it was all too much of a last minute operation to finish it and get to the jury on time. But basically, it’s a small picture of myself squinting at the sun.

Speaking of the sun, loved how it brought out the grand architectural detail in this building nearby the Royal Academy.

Had a lovely sunny weekend in the neighborhood. The temperatures went up so much, many people pulled out their sandals and sunscreen.