1 ::: Why are you an artist Olga?
Because
I can't be passive about the colours and
shapes around me, they disturb me. I feel
like I need to analyse combinations of
colours and shapes and to transform these
specific feelings onto canvas. I feel
like I am a filter between nature and
canvas.
+2
::: Could you tell me some more about
your art?
My
art is firstly colour orientated and secondly
shape and motif orientated. I form a mental
‘fluid interpretation’ of the
subject or association I wish to interpret.
I firstly use my palette to generate the
colour harmonies I feel. I then use combinations
of these colours on the canvas to create
my mental interpretation. If the subject
of the painting is figurative, the colours
form shapes, but if the subject is non-figurative
or abstract the colours create my feelings
on canvas. Colour is the most important
ingredient in my paintings, but plasticity
of a subject is also important and if
the two of them are in harmony the canvas
is magic for the eyes
+3 ::: Is the
subject of your paintings important to
you, or do you just paint because you
like painting?
Sometimes
I am impressed by purely colour with shape
not playing a role, like a sunset for
example. I interpret this in an abstract
way using my colours. Other times it is
an association of colour and shape, such
as a sunset in a farmyard environment
which may result in a more figurative
interpretation using my colours.
+4
::: What artists have influenced you and
why?
I
am influenced by Matisse’s vision
and use of colour. He began accurately
interpreting natures colours many years
ago when this was unheard of. I am to
this day enthralled by the power of the
colour in his paintings.
+5
::: What do you do for fun (besides art)?
Travelling
is my favourite pastime after art. It
recharges my artistic batteries, refreshes
me and provides many impressions for new
paintings.
+6
::: What inspires you to paint and how
do you keep motivated when things get
tough in the studio?
Some times is very difficult to continue
the process of painting and what I do
at first is to go to visit an impressionist
exhibition. If I'm in Russia it's the
Pushkinskiy museum which has a big and
very good collection of impressionist
and post-impressionist art. Secondly when
I feel tired I start to change paintings
that I painted previously.
+7
::: How have you handled the business
side of being an artist?
My father who is a professional designer
said to me when I was in art-school that
when a real artist creates a painting
he is never thinking about money and how
much it could be sold for, or about his
audience and whether they will like his
art or not. So I'm lucky at present that
my art makes enough money and I do not
need to work somewhere else to support
me being an artist.
+8
::: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Popularity is important for pushing some
artists forward, but popularity stops
some people growing. I had several up
and downs already but was strong enough
to remain true to myself. To possess creativity
is much stronger for the spirit than growing
a career. So in 10 years time I still
will be in the process of growing as an
artist, because continual movement is
necessary for development.
+9
::: Could you talk about your latest series
of paintings and what you are trying to
achieve with them?
I
have recently conducted a personal art
exhibition in Canada, which is continuing
at the present time in Regina, Saskatchewan.
For several months I specially worked
with a series about Canadian themes. It
was a first for me to create images from
a country where I never had been. When
I arrived in Canada I experienced and
felt the surroundings at first hand and
so when I go back to the empty canvases
in my studio I will specially do another
Canadian series for myself to captures
the feelings I experienced in Canada and
to compare these with the series I created
before my travel to Canada.
+10
::: What advice would you give to an artist
just starting out?
I worked really hard as a student of the
Art Academy, I was totally absorbed with
art to the exclusion of all other things.
It made me strong and sure of myself and
sure about what I create.
My
credo is what Stanislavskiy The Great
said -'Love the art in yourself and not
yourself in art'.
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Olga Konoschuk
