I want to thank everyone who is interested and reading this post now.
Thank you, friends, for being there. This year there were many interesting events related to my artistic activities. I didn’t always have time to report this, and sometimes I was deliberately silent, because I don’t like to discuss , but the year is ending and I’m pleased to resume.
At the beginning of the year, a jury selected my work to make a banner in the city of Pickering near Toronto and now my composition adorns the main street of the city. When I created the banner, I used a composition of the wave or element symbol, which is inherent in the image used in the First Nation in combination with the popular Petrykivka style, Ukrainian traditional style.
I am very pleased with this decision in the style of color. Since the element of water is blue and the city of Pickering is located on Lake Ontario. The flowers depicted on the banner speak of an earthly image. Below is the banner Water Element’s image:
Later, in the summer, I returned to this image and, creating a collection in the Petrykivka style, I depicted this composition on wood again.
Autumn gave me my dream and I flew out of media life for a month and took up icon painting. While teaching lessons, I not only had students, but I myself went through and updated my knowledge. This is how my icons appeared.
A huge incentive for me was the result of the jury, which selected my two works in Petrykivka style for the exhibition Roots, which will open in January 2024 in Toronto.
When I sit down to create a painting, I first of all study my previous works. So, this beautiful painting was created, which is dedicated to my beloved Lvov
And absolutely new two large decorative paintings.These are memories of summer, sun, warmth and flowers, happiness and love. Large butterfly on canvas, made in a mix techniques and creating an extraordinary atmosphere of freshness and joy.
I would like to wish you, my readers, a good next year, health and prosperity to you and your families.
Modern drawing made in the style of Petrykivka painting by Natalia Stasiv-Garko
It may seem that time is unchanged. More than six months have passed since the last publication. During this time, many events have passed that can be packaged in one word – change. The Chinese, when they want to wish something bad, say that you should live during changes. They make sense because this is the most uncertain time, which slows down any planning, postpones things indefinitely, interferes with meetings and postpones events. But what to do, when this happened to you. Therefore, I will briefly summarize my post.
I’m sure many people have found themselves in this state. Today I am only talking about the present tense. The large collection of wood paintings I created in the traditional Ukrainian style was shown in August and had both positive and negative responses. I may return to the positive ones, but I’ll dwell on the negative ones in more detail. This is my first time painting on wood. I have not done this before. If we approach the creation of the project technically, then its goal was to create mutually complementary objects that together would create the same composition.
Composition of the drawing, completed in Petrykivka style and presented for teaching drawing techniques in a book about Petrykivka painting
The critics felt that I did not perform the traditional Ukrainian Petrikovsky painting correctly, or to put it differently, in an original way. Well, although these critics do not know how to draw and have a superficial understanding, they decided to consider me a failure. I am not defending myself and I am not going to argue. But thanks to the first women (Petrikovsky painting is known for the fact that the first women who mastered it were women who painted the walls of their houses) who painted cockerels, birds and flowers in an absolutely free style and decorated their houses with them, we now have a whole galaxy of artists of this style. If you look at the works of each of them, they are very different and they have in common the creation of a composition around several symbols.
One of the founders of Petrykivka painting in Ukraine Maria Prymachenko
Years have passed and this style, thanks to modern graphic programs, has reached absolute perfection. Moreover, many schools and courses have appeared that are ready to teach you this skill for your money. And yet, based on primary sources, I would advise you to remain tied to the three fundamentals of this painting – creativity, composition around symbols and image technique.
One of the famous paintings created by Maria Primachenko
That’s why I wished and wish today to everyone who is fighting for something, look at the primary sources and add your creativity – you will succeed.
Another painting by Maria Prymachenko, the founder of Petrykivka painting
The most interesting thing in learning any folk painting is mastering the principles. Although I will now be criticized again, the founders of this type of painting did not interconnect the composition; many objects of the composition were, as it were, separated. If you look at photographs of one of the first creators of this type of painting, you can see how stamping, the creation of separate drawings, which are located one next to the other.
Modern apartment decor in Petrykivka style
Two centuries ago, the goal for artists was to create a drawing that would create coziness in the room, protect it and harmonize with everyday life. Therefore, cheerful roosters and hens, wonderful bright princes with colorful plumage and long multi-colored tails, flowers of unusual shapes and color harmony appeared on the walls.
It was rural folklore, the art of the country people who decorated their homes. And today, Ukrainian artists have supplemented and improved it and created masterpiece collections of paintings, introducing this type of art into the traditional Ukrainian folk art. I’ll return to my collection. Drawing on wood requires its own skill. Technically, this is a more long-term work, and I was also required to create compositions on two chests, several kitchen boards, kitchen wooden shelves, souvenir wooden houses, Christmas tree decorations and sections of wood. I also tried painting on bags.
Photo from exhibition where was present my new collection.
I liked the combination of animals with modern elements. I took the cat as a symbol on the bag. That’s why I received criticism.
Another part of the collection among the exhibits on display
I’ll wait until the passion to ruin someone subsides and all this settles down and still, I’ll remain silent. Someone else criticized that I was too confident in myself. Friends, no. I hid, broke all my brushes, threw away the paints and am sitting waiting for something else to come to me. I would like your problems. Today I have donated several works to auctions and I believe that they will be useful. Tomorrow is not predictable for me, I will say one thing – only those who do not do and do not create are not mistaken. And I am again full of news and ideas, which I will tell you about in the next post. All the best
You will understand the full feeling by reading this post in full. I want to ask you, give me likes so that I can see and feel you on the other side. Lets begin. Well, for four or more months, since everything went topsy-turvy for me, and after the absolute loss of work and the impossibility of creating or doing anything planned, I didn’t sit without work for a long time. The first I was to decide to continue writing scripts and be sure to release a book.
For me, this year is my new project, which I have to create before the end of the year. Of the plans for this year, the completion of two short films did not come true.
There is quite enough material for both films, it remains to collect and add special effects, but as with all creative people, it has stopped. The reason is these two products are both comedies. And although I am a person who likes to joke and always have an easy attitude to life, but the environment and events in my country, the news put pressure on me and prevent me from completing these projects. It’s not about comedies, although comedies are to blame for this.of course, you will immediately note that I am not a commercial person, and you will be mistaken. On the contrary. Who needs these stupid comedies now?
In what aspect have I been able to work and continue to do so? It is imperative to sell very large paintings. They are difficult to store and preserve, they are gallery works and they need a large open space. Unfortunately, there is not enough room for them in my house.
Elements Water ( Petrykivka)
I have already turned to some galleries and said that I sell my big works. If you are also interested, please go to the section of my works there in this page and look at the paintings for 2016-2019 – you will find a dozen large paintings. The sizes of the paintings are indicated there.
Panno( two+ years work/Mix techique: oil&acryl) Very bright painting
You can buy through this web site use PayPal.
Each painting is accompanied by a Certificate Authenticity and sign on painting.
A pair of paintings?inspired by the war in Ukraine(We will win and Survive)
If you like any of the works,do not hesitate to contact me by email : helen.polishuk@gmail.com
Instagram: astra_production
Fb: Helenpolishuk.com
Worldwide shipping via Canadian Post with tracking and well packaging.
It’s absolutely a sale of paintings
Artist with rose/Painting created few days before war.(acrylic&canvas)
Well, their genres, as always, are different. During this period, I especially managed to replenish my Petrykivka collection. I’m getting ready to exhibit them in galleries throughout the next year.
Tender Petrykivka(acrylic&canvas)
It is worth emphasizing that I became interested in acrylic and my work became brighter and richer. I also liked using acrylic to imitate watercolor painting. That is, such light transparent strokes. Very effective and exciting.
Blue mountans(acrylic&canvas)
This made me create more than twenty paintings in a short time. Real creative terror))
My favorute painting
Such a fountain of emotions and colors splashed out in creativity. I don’t know how other people experience shocks and events in life, but I separate, dissolve in painting. When I sit down to draw, I don’t always know what will happen. Here is an idea, for example, draw a poppy. I create a sketch with a pencil, set the shape of a flower, and then the real magic comes. Color selection, graduation, applying shadows – all this magic eventually turns into to such a miracle.
