olha pryymak

A little vignette of some people working in the lovely Leila’s cafe this Friday.

This past Thursday was the Royal Academy Summer show submission day, so there were no pictures here for a few days. While there, saw lots of lost-looking artists with telling bubble-wrapped canvases in their hands – all waterproof, except mine, and I cycled; almost got blown off the road by the wind -has been very blustery in London recently; and I totally overestimated what I can carry in my trusty Brompton front basket. And of course it rained on the way. So wish me luck…

So I have finally taken on a studio. It’s at the Netil House off Broadway market. Sorry to say that the two weeks I had access to it, I went there once. To mark the big event of the studio visit, I painted today a view of it’s corner, directly from life, and in pretty limited time frame. Took some photos of the pic with the actual subject in the background ( they are on the painting’s Etsy page) kind of like this idea, will use it in the future. Drums, guitars and amplifiers are there because I am actually sharing it with a very talented musician, his most recent project being the Panther Society (their facebook page). I love the musical paraphernalia, speaking of which, my house is chock full of it too. Maybe this will be the subject of the series I will carry on painting from life next week.

Meanwhile back to the Broadway market paintings, La Vie en Rose coming up next.

A cute small place of organic food on Broadway market. The hangings above the produce looked of super bright color today in the full-on sunshine.

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

My architect girlfriend confessed to me once that her biggest grief in work is dealing with the engineers, and how the cost efficiency and availability of materials dictate how buildings turn out to look like eventually. When going to school, in her mind, picking the architectural track was going to give her a good balance of creative and practical work, when in fact it all came down to negotiations with the builders.

Looking at the old buildings (those predating mass production and more or less the industrial revolution), I pause to think how much say did the architect have in shaping the way it looks. I would assume that the architectural craft was much more well regarded back in the days.

Today’s picture has both, the One New Exchange and a spear of a church in the background, tied together by a bright tube sign pole.

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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Very pleased to announce the launch of the Leila’s shop report, that will be penned out and illustrated with beautiful photos and my paintings by the Gentle Author of the Spitalfields Life every month. This month’s???? season produce report includes Jerusalem artichokes, grape hyacinth, blood oranges from Italy, several types of radicchio, wild garlic and radishes, fennel and much more.

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I have pictured forced rhubarb here in today’s painting, and some nice cauliflower in the background.

Leila’s shop, 15 March, 2011, 19×19 cm, oil on panel, nfs, similar available via Etsy

The beautiful 5 Fournier street, and the Town House next door, across the street from Christ Church in Spitalfields. The shadow of the church cuts across the picture.

You can search the Etsy site by already available categories in the right hand column. Or just enter your color/subject/media preferences into the search bar. It’s important to look through quite a few pages because only the most recently published work ends up on top.

Also, lots of my clients found me through Shop Local option on the site, typing in the area you live in, eg. “London, UK” for the list of artists from your area. As a result, I have often delivered the artwork in person or had people pop into my studio to pick up the artwork. ? This made for much more personal and reassuring shopping experience for everybody.

You must know that painting and any art-making in general is usually a very lonely experience so dropping a message via the contact form, even if it’s just a comment on the artwork, would make an artist’s day.???? Do use this contact form as well if you are unsure of the specifics, and want to find out more detail before hitting the Buy button.