Spring has been a bit of a disappointment for us this year. But at the end, after weeks of prolonged rain, we’re entering the season of gorgeous blossoms. This is when everything in the city blooms, blossoms, and is awash with brightness and fragrance within a week. Petals from blossoming trees fall onto the road, and we all feel like spring, meaning the sun is present in our region longer and more often. This is a joy.
Although the entire collection consists of different variations of flower bouquets, I added my love for spring flowers and the light of spring’s radiance to them.
This celebration of blossoming and beauty has been gathered in my imagination and symbolizes a family tree—a flourishing, diverse, deep, and strong family tree of life. It was this idea that ignited me at the beginning of spring and gave me the realization that we are the continuation of our lineage, rooted deep in the earth and reaching upward, acquiring a branching crown of life through love and faith. All that holds us together is our faith and our roots. That’s why this work is especially dear to me. It is made in the Petrykivka style, a traditional Ukrainian folk art style in which I have been creating for over 15 years. Incredible.
Such a long time, and yet I, like a little person, feel like an apprentice in this art form.Like just started)).
All these works are for sale and you can buy them. I have specially reduced the prices so that you receive them with a certificate of authenticity.
Or do you just collect art work with your eyes? Have a wonderful spring mood.
Today I’m celebrating a small anniversary. It’s not exactly important or interesting to you, but for me, it’s a special date. No, it’s not the birth of a new child or a happy life in a married family.
This isn’t the date after some surgery and the beginning of a new life, nor is it Valentine’s Day. It’s not moving to another country or buying a new house. Although, if you take all of these factors and mix them up and overload them, they all influenced the date I’m talking about today. Back in 2016, after I completely decided to step away from filmmaking on a film crew and go out on my own and return to professional art education, I chose several directions for myself. One of them was classical landscapes. The second, very expanded and popular, was abstractionism. I’ve explored many styles in this field and love creating my own works.
But today we’ll talk about the third—my favorite. This direction is decorative art and folklore.
It’s as easy as always—I sat down, browsed the styles I liked online, tried them, studied them, practiced, and off I went… Isn’t that right? Back in 2016, I couldn’t have imagined that I would feel so comfortable and happy in this field. I couldn’t have imagined that there would be years when I would be captivated by this movement and creatively empowered.
Exactly 10 years ago, I began painting Petrykivka, a traditional Ukrainian style called Petrykivka. Over the course of 10 long years, I’ve created over 80 works in this style. This included bold ideas, a search for my own direction, and studying the works of famous Petrykivka artisans. In 10 years, I didn’t expect such a boom in the popularity of this art form and the multitude of master classes and drawing courses in this style. Perhaps it all stems from the fact that, while studying this art form, I constantly want to improve myself. Even now, when much time has passed and I return to my first works, I find that they can be improved, and I want to do so. But that’s the beauty and originality of them: they are magnificent in their original form, not in their perfection.
If we take the first year, 2016 in particular—it was a special year. And it’s special precisely because I didn’t create anything more beautiful or magnificent than that year. Imagine how painstakingly I worked on each image. And from that year until 2018, I worked exclusively with oil paints. Acrylic was a cheap material for me. I neglected it. Only after 2018 did I begin painting with acrylics, and only acrylics, due to health issues and the fact that I didn’t have a separate, air-conditioned, and warm space where I could paint with oils.
I still want to go back. There’s nothing better than painting with oil paints. It’s the perfection of artistic experimentation. So, back in 2016, the first Petrykivkas were 11 x 14 inches, and there were several of them. Two of them immediately flew to Europe that year and are now in collections there. And the rest—you can see them in the video at the link.
This small anniversary is a celebration of creativity and love. It is patience and creativity. It is a splash of color and the realization of ideas. It is a small victory.
to shoot into the silence to say – I exist, I still live. I write, I create, I help, I work, I am a mother, a woman, a writer, and I love you, my dears.
Spring has arrived, bringing with it movement and a changed pace of life. The days have lengthened, and it’s gratifying to realize that my workload has increased dramatically and that more pleasant events are taking place. Several exhibitions with my presence have already been confirmed, meaning paintings will be unpacked, refreshed, and seen by many visitors in Toronto galleries. There will also be time for movie theaters and film screenings. Tomorrow, our entire women’s group is going to see a film in the city. It’s a pleasant, festive feeling, as three generations of us walk along a Toronto sidewalk. Next week, there are many celebrations in which I will be participating both as an organizer and as a participant. This is also gratifying, as it brings me great pleasure to create a creative state for people. I had barely announced the start of the children’s drawing contest when children from all over the world began sending in their drawings. And it’s so nice—my dear children! You are incredibly talented, and your drawings are wonderful.
What I’d like to tell them is to continue drawing throughout your life. It’s not just a hobby, it’s also a state of mind—creating is wonderful. I understand that behind every drawing is not only the child, but also their mother. And together, they are great. This develops talent for life. Of course, they will receive thanks, but mutual attention is highly valued here. Another piece of news is my interest in poetry. And today I’ll reveal a secret. Actually, it’s not even a secret. It’s work. Video and audio format. It was created for an exhibition.In celebration of National Poetry Month this April I created a video film with the poetry of a talented, magnificent, unrivaled… and my favorite poetess Joy Harjo .I chose her poem Cricket Song.
I just sent my work to the competition jury, and it will be performed in April. A few words about the author. JOY HARJO-she’s an American poet whom I first met last year at a writers’ meeting at a Toronto library. There wasn’t a single empty seat in the room I attended. She spoke about her work on stage, read poems, and answered questions. I bought her book CONFLICT RESOLUTION.
Generally, I rarely do this. Besides, I don’t like revolutionaries, I have a negative attitude toward politicians, and I don’t like it when they create trendy clubs and manipulate people’s minds. I also disdain advertising. And here is a woman, a wonderful poetess, whose poems are the threads of nature, woven into life. Born here on this earth, imbued with this wind and dust, food and disease. This is the root of this tree. And I felt her breath. And today, I supported her.
That’s how, in short, my work on her poetry came about.
In conclusion, I want to say that sometimes I feel that the world is very small and some events that happen to us are not entirely random.
Below I give you a link to my work, which will be broadcast next month.
How quickly almost two months of 2026 have flown by. And all because, in the Canadian winter, most city events, like people’s lives themselves, slow down and retreat to apartments and houses. This means people are less interested in events, go outside less, socialize less, and the events calendar has been rescheduled until the end of March, when the sun warms up more or less and exhibitions, events, and meetings begin. And festivals, especially street festivals, which are popular in Toronto, are held from June or late May. Such are the wonderful nuances of life here in Toronto. However, there are exceptions. One of these is the annual International Auto Show, which is held in Toronto’s most prestigious venue in Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Situated in two separate buildings connected by a long bridge, on three spacious floors, this weekend it brought together the entire population of Toronto and surrounding cities.
I would like to point out to you right away that the exhibition runs until the end of the month, that is, until the end of this week, and anyone who can or wants to attend should hurry.
As a frequent visitor to this exhibition, I’d like to invite everyone, even their families, to come. There’s plenty to see. Magnificent collector cars, from Audis to miniature cars, collected by a Canadian family and lovingly displayed. All of this is located on the ground floor of the main pavilion. The oldest exhibits, the oldest cars, are also there, and are on display at the Ontario Museum of Automobiles. I’d like to point out right away that when cars first appeared and replaced horse-drawn carriages, they were magnificent, very spacious, and distinguished themselves from modern cars by their simplicity, comfort, and large size.
Now, a century later, everything has changed so much that on the same ground floor of the main pavilion, a modestly displayed mini-car is electric, fits one person, and is representative of the modern metropolis. It’s a mix of bicycle and scooter, rechargeable, doesn’t require gasoline, and is advertised as completely green, which is hard to believe, as electricity isn’t green either, and is even more controversial than gasoline. Does such a car have a life? As the smallest car, it already has its place in history. And ascending to the main floor of the main pavilion, to the prestigious showrooms of Mercedes, Audi, Toyota, Nissan, Kia, and Jaguar, it’s impossible to miss the central space dedicated to Tesla. There’s also a Tesla robot, along with clothing and accessories from a leading brand. There are many buyers, and the prices aren’t cheap. Mercedes showed off a large truck where you can drive, travel, sleep, and cook. This is a first, and only at this show. In general, I want to point out that car prices have suddenly increased. There are many people interested in the new models. What’s noticeable is that during times of depression, car colors become brighter. Today, too, there’s a very vibrant color range.
Apparently due to competition, almost all companies created bright colors, from pearlescent green to bright red and gold. The two most expensive cars in the showroom were gold. The Bugatti was the most expensive car in the showroom.
There were a lot of people. Families there. And for me, already familiar with the panorama of cars, I liked many of the exhibits. Of course, I wanted to play games, win prizes, drink delicious German coffee, take motorcycle selfies with the collection of Japanese motorcycles on display, and ride a Jeep in a special area—they had set up adventures for the Jeep, and you had to wait in a very long line to sign up for the Jeep driving challenge.
I didn’t wait, so I left it for those more patient. Overall, I got a huge boost of energy. Don’t forget, the exhibition is only open until the end of this week.
The New Year has opened up new possibilities for my paintings. It’s a breath of fresh air with a change in style and direction. And I succeeded with my first work.
Though winter’s chill lingers, “Blossom” captures the hopeful promise of spring. This original acrylic painting celebrates the return of sunlight, the anticipation of blooming trees, and the warmth of brighter days ahead. It evokes a sense of faith in new beginnings.
Created with acrylic and ink on canvas, this piece showcases a fresh artistic approach. The finished sides allow for frameless display, making it a versatile addition to your art collection. The small size makes it ideal for adding a touch of nature to a cozy corner or smaller wall space.
“Blossom’s” botanic subject and blend of classicism and art nouveau styles create a timeless appeal. Its photorealistic touches bring a modern sensibility to this classic theme. Imagine this painting bringing a breath of fresh air to your home or office.
Invite the optimism of spring into your space with “Blossom.” Add this unique, small-sized acrylic painting to your collection today and let its beauty brighten your surroundings.
Blossom at https://www.saatchiart.com/en-ca/all?query=helen%20polishuk with SPECIAL price under 500$.
The New Year is galloping by in all its glory and unbridled speed. Maybe it’s just me feeling like the days are flying by faster than they did a few years ago? Apparently, as I get older, I find myself wanting to just sit and do nothing, look out the window, read a book, watch the birds chirping outside, admire the flowers I grew myself, play with my grandchildren, and simply pass the time. I can’t say I get tired of it. On the contrary, it brings me more and more pleasure with each passing year. The fiery fortnight of January has already passed. The red fire horse will soon enter its domain, and the year is shaping up to be the year of the red fire horse. And I’m still going through my work, looking at my sketches, analyzing what I’ve created in recent years, what’s good, what I don’t like. And I read and listen a lot. I’m especially interested in the most pressing topic: art management. An artist studies, creates, and produces to be sold. This is the artist’s main motivation. Even in the most difficult financial situation, an artist dreams of selling their works and turning them into capital. No matter how difficult this may be in today’s circumstances, one must constantly analyze and improve oneself through study to keep up with fashion and trends. I want to harken back to the early years of my creative work, when I created my paintings without much emphasis on sales, but many of my paintings have become collections of cultural centers after numerous exhibitions of my work. Today, much has changed, and what I especially want to share with you is my desire to expand the potential of each work to maximize its sales potential. So now I’m calculating whether I should buy equipment and create additional products to popularize my art, or leave everything as is due to my poor financial situation. After all, that would mean upfront payments, investments, and investments in a future no one knows. We didn’t know that in 2019 and 2020 we would be in quarantine, and then in a major financial crisis. In times like these, saving is better than spending.
It’s a leap, but I’d call it a risk. Another thought occurred to me: I’m holding myself back more and more. I’m becoming slower and slower. And I’m less and less willing to change anything; I’m giving up so many things, even beyond my capabilities. Oh well. Let this fiery horse gallop. Good luck to him and everyone in this fiery year.
If you translate the word “fiery” and look for its synonyms, it perfectly describes the first days and weeks of the new 2026 year. We don’t expect any surprises this year, but rather a rather unpredictable one.
I won’t tell you how important our teeth are for us. They are our healthy body, our mood, and our peaceful life.
Today I had my tooth treated. Nothing special, except that I’m a dentist and I used to work there and treat others’ teeth. Now I’m a bit old and can write and talk about it. In my practice, they used different filling materials and anesthesia, and the approach to treatment was different. There are many other innovations and inventions now, but the main thing remains: a healthy tooth is always better than a dead one.
Yesterday, I just bit into a piece of meat and felt the tooth with the filling crack. It cracked so badly that the filling was still in place, but half the tooth was loose. And a real burning sensation started around it—pressing it became painful. I skipped dinner and decided to fast because chewing was so difficult. And it wasn’t a molar, not a front tooth. It was a lateral tooth. Such a tooth has its own characteristics. It always consists of two roots and two nerves. All night I imagined it, trying to guess where and how it cracked.
If it’s cracked in the middle, treatment may involve its removal, as the two roots will separate. If it’s cracked laterally and deeply, the nerves need to be removed and the canals filled. And when there’s inflammation, like mine, this procedure isn’t very gentle, as the inflamed nerve prevents treatment and will react. In those days, when I was practicing, arsenic was used. It helped quickly kill the nerve and give the dentist access to the cavity. Arsenic is no longer used. Therefore, the procedure itself isn’t very gentle. I slept peacefully and didn’t feel any pain, although I need special treatment—I have a low pain threshold, I’m very patient, and I tolerate pain, even if it’s very severe, like renal colic or appendicitis. So don’t ask me if it hurts. I won’t answer this question very well. I’ll probably say, “It’s bearable.” And that would mean, “It hurts, damn, what are you even asking?” This morning, I was already bracing myself for a trip to the dentist, as you shouldn’t wait more than 24 hours for a broken crown—it’s an emergency procedure. And I agreed with myself that the tooth needs to be depulped, which will significantly accelerate its decay and quickly lead to its loss. The filling will be large, and a depulped tooth lasts a maximum of five years, after which it begins to decay, since a dead tooth has no calcification.
Just like that, a tooth gets lost out of nowhere. It cracked. I’m over 60. What does this mean? It means that if we, those born between 1950 and 1980, start losing our teeth in our 20s, then by the time I’m 60, almost 50% of our teeth will be gone, especially those lateral ones. And then the worst thing will happen: to have a beautiful smile, people will start filing down and destroying adjacent teeth to put in cosmetic bridges, which in 5-10 years will take away more teeth. By my age and a little older—70—a person will end up with full dentures or, at best, implants. The later fillings are placed on lateral teeth, the healthier the body and the longer a person’s natural teeth will last, and that means health. But if they crumble—and I’ve had two cases recently where my teeth simply crumbled. One sadly lost its nerves and now sits like a stump, awkward to bite on, but it stays in my mouth. And the second—just today. Suddenly, not from hard food, without any prior symptoms, healthy, and then suddenly it crumbled. Does this mean there’s a problem with my system and a calcium deficiency? Perhaps. And not only that, in my region there’s a vitamin D deficiency, not enough sun, and my eyes are going blind—we live in the north and in a snowy country, where even perfectly healthy people begin to suffer from a lack of vital elements in the body. And no matter how much scientists study this, no matter how many vitamin supplements they recommend, it doesn’t help us. I actually thought yesterday, driving back to Toronto at 4 PM, sitting in the car, that we’re unlucky with the sun, when I had to turn on the car lights because it was dark. The sun’s already gone at 4 PM. If it wants to shine in winter, it’ll come out for two or three hours and that’s it. Anyone who doesn’t get to enjoy it is unlucky. And it’s like that for six months a year. There are many winter days when there’s no light at all, it’s dark in the morning. And then there’s snow, blizzards, poor visibility, snowdrifts, and all that other stuff that’s so typical of Canada. So, about teeth.
Take care of your teeth. Keep them healthy as long as possible – this is the key to your good health and your good mood.
Today is a wonderful and very pleasant occasion to contact my dear online gallery @Saatchiart through you and congratulate it on its small anniversary. 15 years of constant creativity! Great! I wish you success and even more artists.
Since 2010,through gallery have bought art into over 130,000 homes across 150+ countries,its amazing!
Help to build sustainable careers for many artists includihg me.
Even with significant changes in marketing and collector culture, a platform has been created and strengthened that is evolving along with the trends in the development of the art painting sales market.
It’s great that this is a mutual development, both of the online gallery and the artists and their works. The difference of the Saatchi Gallery is that it tests new platform functions, implements and improves, helps buyers easily find what they are looking for. Yes, we artists try to create something that brings joy and awakens thoughts, conversations and debates. This is how art is created and it lives. Happy New Year and a little holiday to you, Saatchi Gallery. And I remind you that in honor of this celebration, the gallery made discounts and traditionally I take part in them. I exhibited a new collection of works, which is very bright, childish, naive, funny, joyful and pleasant. Style and color cannot be taken away from me. My original style has been developed over years of work and is not comparable to anyone else. It remains only to thank my fate for this and you, my subscribers and readers, I invite you to the Saatchi gallery page
This company officially runs from August 15 to September 2 .2025. Hurry up, grab your happiness and the moment of a successful purchase thanks to the celebration and discounts.
It has become a tradition that I write a post not about today, but after some time. This does not change the basis of the post, but lags a little in time. Well, it is already the second day of autumn weather, autumn temperatures, and I return you to July, where the sun is in full swing, where every day was stuffy, dry and very sunny. Probably there were many requests and prayers from the residents of our country for more sun. So we got what we asked for. As if on command – from the first days of June. summer in Ontario, very hot days came.
The salvation from the heat and heat at the beginning of summer was an afternoon walk in the park. So Barbara and I decided to walk through our favorite park in Mississauga. Why our favorite? The largest Art Center in Mississauga is located there. Therefore, every time we look into the park, we invite ourselves to the gallery, to see what it has to offer, what activities there are and what’s new.
And of course, take a look at my favorite house, which is located next to the art center. A wonderful place in all respects. I even chose it as a location for making a film a few years ago. It is very well-kept, brings its beauty and taste to the beautiful landscape of the park.
The color of the flowers and greenery of the trees combined with the architecture of the building and the small park around it. The care of the people who look after this place attracts many people here every day.
And in the evening it is especially pleasant to walk in the shade of tall trees, fragrant herbs and many-sided flowers. This is a fabulous place for romantics, lovers and just lovers of walks in the park.
And I will allow myself to express gratitude for this piece of paradise in the middle of Mississauga. Although I can’t walk there and I’m not a resident of Mississauga, I still enjoy walking in this park.
In the park they grow a lot of different types of flowers. They try to grow potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers – we saw this in their experimental beds. In mid-July we went and saw what they had with the harvest. It was very interesting, because for me, as a gardener, the tomatoes were standing and slowly setting flowers. And the cucumbers in general decided to burn in the sun and get sick. No matter how I changed their places, they were exposed to the virus and the leaves dried up. And in the park at that time there were live, very large cucumber leaves and a lot of ovaries. Apparently, not only the place affects, but also the soil and the type of plant itself. Mine were bought ready-made in the store and this is my last purchase – it is better to grow from seeds than to spend money on seedlings heavily treated with growth hormones that cannot produce a harvest. In Ontario this is a problem, since we have a very short summer and we need to quickly grow and harvest. I do not envy our gardeners.
It’s easier with flowers, because there is no harvest here and you can calmly enjoy the blooming of luxurious lilies, roses and gladioli.
Fortunately, the park has plenty of flower species and their color and brightness are amazing.
I don’t even know which types of flowers I prefer.
Still, probably bushes, without flowering. I like them more.
Even these wild yellow flowers look different in well-tended flower beds.
This is a small house for bees, wasps and all sorts of insects, which can find there what they usually look for at the end of summer. Hide for the winter. This is collected to show to children who come here as little lovers of the park and nature. This year I have seen many of these summer camps with this focus. I am very glad that so much attention is paid to teaching children culture and caring for nature.
Walking among the trees, I look closely at the varieties of tree species growing here. For example, it is considered a favorite delicacy of birds.
This is a Christmas tree. But it is very well-groomed and that makes it look like a queen.
And this is my favorite wooden cart, where I made a film. The cart has already completely collapsed, but as an element of decor, it fits very nicely into the architecture of the park.
Well, let’s walk through the colorful flower beds again and feel their aroma. It is especially prominent during hot weather and at the end of a hot day it can be especially felt.
Echinacea is planted here too.
Another lily bed
If you think that it is boring and tedious here, it is not at all. In the summer, many concerts and events are held here in the art center building. Live music, meetings with artists and various exhibitions.
And I don’t want to leave the park at all, because this diversity of blooms gives harmony, calms, sets you up for an energetic rhythm and leaves a lot of memories for cold winter evenings. Publishing this memory, I wish for my friend a speedy recovery and look forward to new walks.
