Diana Bekkerman
When the summer storm is coming, there is a moment of stillness. It feels like nature - trees, animals - everyone stops for a moment to listen. That moment of silence is vibrating, it’s not a relaxed state, but a very tense, focused listening. That moment before storm is full of silent music, of divine harmony. This intence silence before storm inspired me to create this piece.
by Vyacheslav Shevchenko
Shortly after we moved to Pennsylvania, we met a wonderful couple - Rose and Bob Brostoski. She is an artist, and he used to be in military. We became really good friends, and there came a moment when I felt inspired to paint her portrait, and then his portrait. They were created in the same long format.
In 2007, the portrait of Rose won Best in the Show Award in Wyoming Valley Art League. And almost three years later, this January, I showed a few of my works in Art Association of Harrisburg. One of them got the Best in the Show Award - it was the Portrait of Sergeant Brostoski. I have a feeling that it’s not so much the execution of these portraits that gets the recognition, but the human qualities of their subjects.
by Diana Bekkerman
Olga Grigoryeva-Klimova is currently a student of Art Academy of Kiev, Ukraine. She paints in different genres, creating wonderful landscapes and portraits, but her still-lifes truly amaze me - there is so much beauty and joy in the way Olga paints glass, metal and porcelain. White teapot, silverware - it all becomes a feast for the eye.
by Vyacheslav Shevchenko
Throughout my artistic career, I often experienced seemingly dead-end situations that made me come up with unique and unexpected solutions. Here is one of such experiences.
On one of my trips to Pamir Mountains, I was drawing a landscape en plein air with pastel sticks. The view that I was drawing was simple yet very beautiful - a mountain river coiling among the rocks with a thin bridge over it, bathing in sunlight. After I started my work, I suddenly realized that I had no ochre pastel - the major color for this particular landscape. I searched my pastel set a few times, but couldn’t find that color. My mind was racing in search for solution. I needed to solve this problem, and solve it fast, before the sunlight changed.
And suddenly I came up with an idea. I grabbed a piece of clay from the ground - it was just the right color - and tried drawing with it on my grayish paper. It worked! I was amazed. I realized then that pastels, especially earth colors are made from real clay - red, brown, ochre clay mixed with adhesives. I completed my drawing using clay mixed with other colors, and in my drawing, the earth was exactly the same as it was in nature.
That evening, we gathered with my artist friends showing each other our works created during the day. Everyone was amazed at how real the earth looked on my pastel drawing.
A few weeks later, one of my friends who was on that trip with me, visited my studio. He saw that pastel again, and again he expressed his awe at how real the earth looked. Then I shared with him the story that I just told you.
by Diana Bekkerman
As it often happens with me, I was observing the kettle on our stove top for days, before I decided to paint it. The glow of the metal felt truly magical. As I began to paint, I started to find more and more color in this seemingly monochromatic set up. Hot oranges and cool blues, pinks and violets - they became truly joyful discoveries for me. I hope this painting gives you a glimpse of what I saw.
by Vyacheslav Shevchenko
The excitement at autumn’s colors and desire to paint a few autumn landscapes made me pause my work on a series of compositions on Biblical themes that I started earlier. However, as the shades of autumn faded, I came back to that series, and here is one of my most recent works - “Noah’s Ark”.
by Diana Bekkerman
Art - be it painting or music, sculpture or poetry - has a power to change our mood instantly. Our moods have a profound effect on our life in many ways. They define our level of happiness moment to moment. That in itself is extremely important. However, there are consequences of our moods that go even further.
When we go to a job interview glowing with joy and confidence do we have a better chance of getting a job than if we were angry and pessimistic?
And how about speaking in front of an audience? Would we speak better if we were joyful and happy rather than worried and embarrassed?
In both of these examples, our mood has a crucial effect on the outcome of the event. Being in the right mood at the right time could literally change the course of our life.
Being in a state of joy also has direct effect on our health. Many, if not most, illnesses start with negative emotions and repressed feelings that gradually manifest on a physical level. The feeling of joy could literally heal.
However, sometimes it’s hard to switch from a negative emotion to joy. I recently had an experience that showed me clearly the power that art has over our moods.
I was feeling down, and although I knew that I don’t want to experience frustration and overwhelm, I just didn’t know how switch to a more positive feeling. I started browsing internet, and I came across some artwork. The artwork didn’t look “beautiful”, but it was so joyful, so genuinely happy that it made me laugh. I laughed, and suddenly I realized that I don’t feel frustrated anymore. I felt uplifted and inspired. I was wondering if the feeling of frustration will come back. It didn’t. I stayed in a joyful mood all evening.
That experience made me realize the true power that art has over our emotions. It acts like a switch, allowing us to change our mood at will - just listening to a particular music, or contemplating a painting - we could go from frustration to peace, from worry to joy.
by Diana Bekkerman
I want to share with you the works of Olga Lutsenko and the toy knitted by her 78-year-old mother. When I found their works online, I felt so much warmth and joy - their works really brightened my day.
Olga Lutsenko is a school art teacher in Murmansk, Russia. She paints and sculpts. The sculpture of a cat is made from dough.
On her online page, she wrote about her 78-year-old mother who knits funny toys. Her mother is still active and curious, she’s learning to use internet, takes active stand in city affairs (her initiative led city municipality to fix the bridge), and exercises every day.
Their works made me laugh with joy, and Olga’s mother’s story really inspired me, so I wanted to share that with you.
by Diana Bekkerman
This small painting was created one quiet day when I was sitting in the kitchen and contemplating the light.
Light was always my key to the wonderland, nothing ever amazed and touched me more.
It’s the power of light that is capable of bringing out the feeling of divine everywhere, no matter how common the setting is.
by Vyacheslav Shevchenko
As usual, I simultaneously work on different pieces, rotating them. You saw how they were begun, now you can see them in progress.
This Saturday first snow fell, and my studio, full of autumn colors, became even brighter with the shades of the passing season. Yesterday became history, Christmas is around the co
rner.