Dzvinya Podlyashetska
Artwork’s Title: Mental Health
Materials Used: acrylic, oil pastels
Studio Based: Lviv, Ukraine
Can you tell us about the process of making your work?
Mostly I don’t plan anything and don’t make sketches before the painting, it’s kind of the inner flow of my emotional expressions. I just start painting and the story creates. I keep the sketchbook just for ideas that appear in my head or rarely I depict different things that I see and find them interesting.
How would you define your work in a few words (ideally in 3 words)?
Bold, bright, funny-ironic.
How did you come up with the idea of your new painting ‘Mental Health’? Is there any story behind this work?
As I said before, I don’t think ahead about what I will paint, the story appears during the work.This work is about anxiety. Anxious mind that is always worrying about different things and the future.
Do specific artworks have been created by random experiments in your studio or do you always come up with a particular concept or narrative in the very beginning?
It’s always random experiments. I paint intuitively, although I still have a main theme that I depict almost in every work.
Is there any particular theme that utterly triggers you to engage your art with?
Yes! Love. I guess it’s one of the most important things on the earth. Not only love between people as relationships but also self love, love of nature and love of life in all its form and manifestations.
Large or small scale canvases dilemma; are there any kind of standards that drive you to decide which surface length is better fitted for your final painting visualisations?
Not really. I dont care on what to paint. Rather it’s a piece of paper, cardboard, wall, clothes, canvas etc.. I’m just using whatever’s to hand. I love bigger scale canvases cuz I can create more detailed and interesting scenes.
What would be the best way to exhibit your work?
Well I always imagine my perfect exhibition in London, NY or LA in a nice gallery with a big light holl and perfectly white walls. I would also like to amplify paintings with framed sketches and a few installations or sculptures.
Can you mention any artists you, lately or generally, take inspiration from?
It can be a long long list with both masters and living artists.
Do you ever wonder if additional work was needed, when an artwork’s making process is finished?
Always haha. I stick to the conception that work is finished when it’s sold. So I often add or remake some works even though they already were shown somewhere.
What do your mum and dad think about your art?
They started supporting me just after I began to earn money with my art. They don’t understand it but they like it.
Which are your plans for the near future?
I try not to think a lot about the future or past at all, especially i don’t like to make plans because as for me they don’t work. I love my life as it is now, and enjoy every day. Life brings me chances and I use them, it’s better when you don’t expect anything supernatural and still get something. Of Course I have some wishes for the near future, for example I would like to have a solo show abroad and make collaborations with some brands. But it’s fine for me to just live, paint and live from my art. I’m not a super extroverted person, so I chose better quiet life with all its conveniences.
Additional Paintings
All images courtesy of the artist