Yevhenia VASYLCHENKO: “I paint the way I feel”
After graduating from Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, where she majored in construction engineering and optic-electronic appliances, Yevhenia Vasylivna tore up all her student notes and started painting. Her home bookcase already contained a lot of works, including graphics, watercolors, collages, cartoons, and handmade leaflets. She doesn’t title her works, believing that every person will choose his own words and has his own “ideas” on art. The advantages of this approach and the female artist’s inner world can be assessed by exploring Yevhenia Vasylchenko’s first solo art exhibit entitled “The 21st Century Mood,” which was held on Nov. 10-13 as part of the 7th Kyiv International Book Fair “The World of Books.”
When did you take up painting and who was your teacher?
Ye.V.: It was a long time ago. When I was a little girl and got my hands on all sorts of books, I would always doodle on them. Generally, I treated those books the way all children do, except that some children grow out of the habit. I never did. I loved to paint and the habit has remained. I completed a three-year painting course at an art studio. My teacher was Liudmyla Yevhenivna Luchenko, who is a wonderful person and artist.
Why did you decide to focus on graphic arts? Is it because you think you can sense the times and convey them better that way?
Ye.V.: Graphic arts are closer to me owing to their color range. I even prefer black and white photos, although my mother says that I’m fond of graphics because I’m lazy; that it’s easier to take a thin sheet of paper and use a gel pen. However, apart from graphics, I do cartoons and collages. I joined the cartoonists’ circle thanks to Ihor Lukianchenko, who was then starting to collaborate with The Day, and the well-known cartoonist Volodymyr Kazanevsky. However, cartoons are more difficult for me than graphics. Everyone wants funny cartoons, but mine come out sad rather than funny, even though I consider myself a cheerful person.
How are your pictures conceived? How does the plan come about?
Ye.V.: For lack of free time I mostly paint after office hours, at night. I always have a pad ready; I use a gel pen and sheets of white paper. Time is of no importance. If I have an idea, I must immediately commit it to paper.
You have many works. Do you have any favorites?
Ye.V.: Perhaps the one portraying a snail sitting on an upended glass and gazing at the starry sky. Many years ago I read an article with a quote from a Chinese philosopher, which I still remember: “Our life is like the distance between the horns of a snail. It is as swiftly moving and vulnerable.”
I believe that trying to find expressive methods is a special part of every artist’s creative quest. Do you often experiment with them?
Ye.V.: I have never searched for my own methods of expression, probably because I’m not a graduate of an art school or institute, where they would “break” me or “create” me. Everything that I create lives in me. I paint the way I feel.
You have collaborated with The Day since 1998. How comfortable is it for you in this editorial environment? To what extent do your creative interests mesh with your professional ones?
Ye.V.: I would rather freelance. This is my most cherished dream. It was practically impossible in the Soviet Union. Now it is possible, but it doesn’t work. I’m not an argumentative person, I’m surrounded by people I like; I feel comfortable here. In the past I distinguished between people I liked and disliked; now I love everyone around me, except that I love some people more than others. I would like to express special gratitude to Larysa Oleksiyivna Ivshyna and Olena Ivanivna Burchevska. If not for Olena Ivanivna, I would have never turned to Larysa Oleksiyivna for help, because I am an indecisive person. Without Larysa Oleksiyivna, I would have never had my solo art exhibit.
