New coop with Olga Khodatska and Igor Yakubovsky
Author: Helen Polishuk
Mid February
will spring be early? how long does it take to do homework? do you have new paintings? where do you spend your weekends?
Monreal ,L-Etoile hall
This year the weather is scaring us. Sometimes snow is half a meter, then thunder in mid-February and a lot of freezing rain.
Something not in Canadian all this. But you don’t have to choose.
Over the weekend I saw a lot of flocks of birds returning. So it’s coming to spring and probably early spring.
When I write this post, outside the window the trees are covered with glass ice and this is unpleasant, because it is dangerous for plants, plants die from such weather. Just today I was filming in the forest and noticed that in the forest the trees, clinging tightly to each other, warm and they are not so afraid of this freezing rain as lonely trees and plants that grow near the road and in the fields. Passing through the fields, you can see that the field is covered with glass .And in the sun, drops of frozen dew glisten like silver. Both beautiful and scary. Unusual to see this.
Traveled to Ontario for the weekend and visited Quebec. We had a rest at the concert of the famous French singer Garou who visited Monteal. The concert was held in a modernly built L’Etoile Banque Nationale in Brossard,Monreal with a crowded hall.
The audience meeting the singer so warmly that I am still impressed. For an hour and a half without a break, the singer sang his song seemed to meet with old friends. People in the hall sang too standing up, asked for an encore and did not let the singer go until he returned and sang almost one more concert. Jokes, laughter, warm applause. The audience danced to his songs.
For the first time, I regretted that I did not know French, but when I left the concert, I already repeated some words.
“Comment allez-vous”
“Merci”
I feel that the French province is very cheerful, friendly and welcoming, just like the people who live in it.
The city of Montreal is breathtakingly beautiful both day and night. The highways and roads of Montreal are different from Ontario and it seems to me much safer.
I saw the city while driving, so I show what I could photograph from the height of the hotel at the rest.
The weather helped us and it was relatively warm and sunny, which is also rare for this month.We Canadians are no strangers to snow. For more than 6 months we have been living in the snow and getting used to it, enjoy the beauty of cold and winter.
In winter, less is spent on the street and more at home, where it is warm. Homework takes up a lot of time. Today, we have to prepare a lot of semi-finished products and store them in the freezer to use for cooking. Our products are imported and the preparation of products in freezers helps us.
Some people ask me what I have drawn in the last month.
I want to disappoint you. For the last month I have been busy with work that is not related to drawing and have to postpone until the end of the month. I hope to return to drawing in the end of the month . I have already collected a lot of ideas and will definitely implement them.
Well, so that you don’t get bored, I’m exhibiting one of my favorite works for you and dedicating it to all lovers and abundant love who celebrate February 14th.
This picture is called Crazy Love and shows my understanding of this feeling.
Without love, we can’t, but this feeling is madness. Some times is sweet, some times is sad, but always crazy.
Happy holiday to you, lovers and may your eyes always shine with fire, which helps to live.
Helen
February 17,2023
Toronto
What are you doing and why are you silent?
Thank you for being so worried and bombarding me with questions. I really relaxed a little and have not been active lately on networks and on the blog. There are reasons for this.
Suddenly, two waves of colds put me in bed.
Between these troubles, I managed to give a concert of my choir in a beautiful church on Anglessy Blvd in Toronto.
I will publish photos from this evening on this page and please you with the fact that the concert was a huge success.
I’ll tell you a little about our choir. We consist of two parts – female and male. Ages from 18 to 80+.
As before, the choir is now recruiting members and any person who has a musical education or is full of energy to study choral singing and participate in the choir can become one.
The choir has rehearsals once a week, where we, together with the conductor, learn the parts and rehearse. The choir has an old tradition, founded by the previous generation of Ukrainians in Canada, to spread the culture of Ukraine, its singing traditions around the world and bring Ukrainian music to all peoples.
We sing both church works and songs written by our members.
Today I am very happy with our composition. 90% of the team have a musical education and our conductor Dr.Svitlana Lysogor is one of the best conductors in Canada.
We are glad that she is a student of the well-known Oleksandr Koshyts and went on tour with him.
We updated and started our concerts.
What was in our repertoire?
We performed Ukrainian carols, so the concert fell on Christmas time. Also in the repertoire are works by Koshits, Katsalo, a Christmas prayer, a song by our participant Bogdanka Paguta, a song by Nanke and the famous Shchedryk Leontovich.
We have wonderful soloists – this is the sonorous voice of Anna Tanchuk. This gentle girl grew up before my eyes. She went with her mother to our rehearsals when I first joined the choir. And now she is at the head of the choir and we are proud that we have grown such generation.
There is also a beautiful tenor Sergei Stilmachenko.
I am very confident that we will continue to grow and expand.
In the meantime, before the end of January, I invite you to my Instagram page, where I will be active for the next month.
Have you forgotten what it looks like?
I give you a link to it.
Go and participate in my Insta posts.
The fact is that in recent years I have been reviewing Oscar-nominated films and publishing reviews about them with the probability of their awards. For several years now, my assumptions have coincided with the Oscars, which is very nice. You can read in my Instagram account for previous years. this year I continue this tradition again and if you are a film addict like me, then I invite you to discuss whether the film will receive an Oscar or not.
It’s exciting, it’s exciting and it gives an overview of the directions and trends in the world of film production, which is very important to me as a filmmaker.
In the meantime, I wish you all peace and good. See you later
“Love and Betrayal”
The author of this poem sent it to me by mail. I agreed with the author that our Canadian actor from Kyiv, Oksana Smilska, can read it best of all.
Oksana created an audio track. And the poem was lying on my table, waiting for its time. And now, when its time came and I started editing the video, I just dropped my hands from the difficulties.
A special heartfelt poem, a very talented performance by the actress put me in a corner. I understood that she had to create a script. He and she. The conflict is when She realizes that he has betrayed, that he is lying and will continue to betray and forgives him. But here, attention forgives, but does not agree with him, but tells him that your humiliation of me is wrong, I am fit to be loved and I will find myself a loved one. And in this sense, in this scenario, I created this mini-film. It is to show that in no case should you humiliate yourself and give in, but you need to free yourself and find someone who loves you.
It is very important to convey this to young people who do not know how to deal with conflicts. The fact is that a few years ago I studied this topic by writing one of my first scripts, and then, unfortunately, I found a lot of psychological training about what is possible and what is not. What is bad and what is good. But these trainings do not go beyond these terms. There are many films, serials, they end in a crisis. So, He tormented Her and either they broke up, or He left. No. Most often He tormented, tormented and will continue to torment. And the healing or the way out is not to call yourself a victim, but to decide for yourself what is important in order to become happy. With such thoughts, I sat down to create this mini film and this video appeared. It is difficult, but it is. I will review the year. I always do this, the video will lie down and I will open it in time, I will look with a new fresh look. And today I am publishing it for you. Undoubtedly, a very good poem and work by Oksana Smilska.
Further will be.
Stay with me.
Helen
Virtual Gallery
They ask me, is it easy to draw. No answer. You can choose the same topic and hone your skills on the same painting, selling it on the street and being inspired by the name of a folk or street artist. You can run after innovations from a drop of acrylic to applications with rubber and spend money on buying places in city exhibitions and stand idle for hours in the hope of finding one buyer who wants a picture that is fashionable, this year’s trend
I choose to draw and create. I sell paintings in galleries, which I help local galleries.
If you like my work, subscribe to my social networks and write to me in the comments. All dreams come true, because I click = willow in Canada and can send a picture to any country on a prepaid basis. The picture is always my signature and accompanied by a certificate. If you have any suggestions, send me letter.
I wait
Helen
Dec 9 2022
I hasten to meet you again, my readers.
The year flew by quickly and intensely, and now it’s December. Last month of the year. As always, let’s sum up the history of plans for the next year.
Summing up the results of the year, I confess that the year had everything – losses, failures, new trials, rest and travel, and of course awards.
Of the losses associated with this terrible year, these are the losses of people close to me. I was left without my mother, and although she died after a long illness, but I miss her so much. I left my parents very early and began to live on my own. Therefore, my parents were a place for me to hurry back to, like in childhood. However, everything changes. The loss of loved ones is always painful.
The war that is now on the territory of my country also affects. At the beginning, I couldn’t get used to it, I suffered from insomnia, called my friends a lot, tried to help, volunteer. Later I tried to create conditions when my real help would be useful. But you can’t get used to the war and I, like many people, dream that the war ends.
I spent three months of spring in the international project “Children War Ukraine”. This is an online project that connected children and is aimed at developing their abilities and desire for creativity. I created videos for poems written by children. The project helped popularize the creativity of Ukrainian children.
In the spring, a significant event was the organization of the performance “Mazeppa” at the Zahrava Theater in Toronto. I am glad that the theatre, despite many difficulties, has released a performance and I am doubly glad that several strong participants have been added to its group. I wish them further growth and success in their difficult work.
Throughout the year I drew a lot and this could not but affect my work.
As quarantine restrictions eased and galleries began to open, I became a participant of many with great enthusiasm.
Pictures created by me over the past year can be viewed on social networks.
There is a page on facebook created by me
https://www.facebook.com/helenpolishukart
Please, subscribe to it so that you are always aware of my new work.
From the latest news related to galleries, I am participating in the exhibition, which will be held from December 6 to December 24 2022 at Cloverdale Mall Etobicoke Ontario.This is an exhibition of works that have passed the competitive selection of the jury of Art Etobicoke. It is a pleasure for me to present two works there, which are very dear to me. I publish them here with a little descriptions about:
I exhibited as the best work of this year my painting POPPIES, created in the spring of 2022 and dedicated to all the soldiers who died in the war. This is the grief of mothers, this is the pain of wives and children, this is the groan of the land on which the war is going on. The picture was created in memory of the dead soldiers, whose names will remain in our memory.
Poppies (2022)
Materials: acrylic on canvas
The second painting presented at the exhibition is a painting MY DREAM created in 2017 and this is my calling card.This painting from her creation and during gallery life, the painting has an interesting history.
For the first time it was exhibited at an online gallery in the UK. Six months later, I stopped working with the gallery and the painting moved online to France, to an online gallery(she is lucky, she moved without problems and payment in the Internet space).
Materials:oil on canvas
The painting was created very quickly ,like it was drawn by itself. I don’t remember exactly, but the idea came instantly: a couple of strokes, oil sketches, then quickly quickly and by nightfall it was almost created. After drying I just tweaked the shadows a little. It felt like she wanted to be created by me. This happens with artists. Going back to 2017, like this 2022, it was very creative year and a lot of paintings were created.
Having got to the selection of the jury, the picture had to be framed and organized for the exhibition. And here is the story again. I looked for many frames, but none of them matched the color or size. Already tired of searching and giving up ready-made frames, I decided to order at the store, but it was closed there. I returned to the search for ready-made ones and an hour before submitting paintings to the exhibition. I found a frame that not only displayed the depth of the picture in golden color, but also decorated it and added value to it. The picture came to life. This is a real miracle.
And last painting with award:
Materials: acrylic on canvas
Describing the last awards of the year, I want to note another victory in the selection of banners by the jury for the city of Pickering. This painting is especially dear to me, as it is a symbol of the unity of Ukrainian and Canadian art.
In this picture, which I specially created for this competition, the element of water is in its design.
The city of Pickering is located on the coast of Ontario and has a nuclear power plant. It depends on the element of water. Water is a symbol of the life of this city. Therefore, it is depicted in the center of the painting.
Envelops its flowers, painted in the Petrykivka style.
In the style that I paint, continuing the old Ukrainian traditions. And it is so well combined. It was noticed by the jury and selected for a banner.
Now my work in the coming year will hang on the main street of the city and decorate and delight.
That’s all news for today.
Don’t leave, there’s more to come soon
Helen
Dec 5 2022
Moving on to the next month
slow thoughts
Is frequent change in life good or bad?
It kills the strong, it kills the weak
What’s better? Peace or War?
Strong side – it expresses its thought, its reality and
the achievement of its goal is not based on a peaceful settlement.
The weak side will blame everyone, but will never take responsibility, will drive around and drag out some conditions for many many years, not directly answering the question, not making open steps, but saving itself, its goals by compromises.
What is the most popular in the world in 2022 – psychology, astrology and predictions or tiktok?
here I will leave you the answer.
I’m interested in your answers.
And here it is interesting – have you changed in 2022?
Now there are big changes and it is felt even in nature. In my life I have never seen such a beautiful September, such a warm October and such a dry, endangered forest in the outskirts of Toronto.
Changes in cities and in entire countries.
People take other forms.
Everything is changing around
I have noticed that we have become cautiously doubtful, truthful pessimists, uncertain about the future.
The slogan of 2022 is live now
The world has become wary:
-put on a mask – you’re indoors
-it’s not a fact that the one who is a socially active presenter in reality gives out reliable facts and he must be trusted
-image, image people – minute puppets, changing one after another
-children play war, pour stones on the head of one and shoot their peers with a toy
this is scary
children have not yet grown up, but have already changed
Over the past three years, the inferiority of the old people has been very noticeable. They stand out for their worsened appearance, worsened condition and survival, the struggle for life. I stopped seeing their smiles.
And in conclusion
The connection, to which they were in such a hurry, so jumped and created the last decade, collapsed and disintegrated.
It’s like a plate falling to the floor and breaking into a thousand little pieces.
It’s a pity that all this is happening today
