Page 109 - Masters

I love art so much that it is like breathing to me. I do
it because I cannot live without it; I see the whole
world through the eyes of an artist. My art speaks
for my soul. Sometimes, it is happy and pleasing.
Other times, it is sad and controversial. Always, it is
colorful, unique, and imaginative. My art reflects my
love of humanity, the power and beauty of women,
and the confusion life brings to us.
I believe art should be very powerful and complex.
Somebody once said that art imitates life. Life
is complex, so why shouldn’t art be? Art should
encompass our emotions, experiences and beliefs.
It should tell stories, protest injustices, inspire the
imagination, nourish spiritually, make people think,
please, amuse, inflict pain, confuse, enlighten, and
sometimes anger. Everybody feels these feelings,
but artists transform these feelings into paintings,
sculptures, poems, movies, songs, and plays. My
passion is painting. I use color, line and a variety of
art methods to express myself.
I was born in Ukraine, and I started painting at the
age of 2. I knew then that I wanted to become an
artist. I became serious at the age of 10. Between
the ages of 11 and 22, I attended 3 specialized art
schools, which were very rigorous, but they made
an artist out of me. what I learned primarily from
my education in the former Soviet Union is that
there are 3 aspects to becoming a great artist:
great technique, creativity, and years of hard work.
I later completed 2 Master’s Degrees in Art from
Columbia College, Chicago, where I learned about
contemporary art trends. I combined these two
worlds of art to become the artist I am today.
I have been developing my own style of painting
for many years, something unique. My style
incorporates multiple styles. Love and war, for
example, are best expressed through different art
styles, media, and techniques. Often the theme of
the piece will lead you to the best way of expressing
it. I believe an artist who limits herself to one style
is like an actor who always plays the same role in
every movie. There is no growth where there is
complacency. That’s why I experiment with many
different styles and techniques, much like a chef
might combine different ingredients on a whim
to see what happens. Each art work really needs
its own unique combination of various methods,
media and techniques; otherwise, it cannot
completely capture the emotions and themes the
artist intended.

GOLDeN FaLL, 1996 METAL AND gLASS H-56 IN. /H-142 CM. 
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masters of today