Colors Breathe

This painting was born in the process itself. When I create my works, I never know what the final result will be — I surrender completely to my emotions.
At that time, I felt a deep need to paint something about my homeland — Ukraine. I wanted to express its difficult fate, the trials it is going through now, and the light that, despite everything, never fades. The painting consists of three layers, like a code that hides my inner state.

The first layer is the flag of Ukraine.
I applied the paint with gentle strokes: blue symbolizing the sky, and yellow — the wheat fields and sunflowers. I remembered the peaceful times before the war — how we lived, how little we valued calm. Before my eyes appeared warm memories of home, moments of joy, childhood, and love.

A few days later, I began working on the second layer — the most painful one. I wanted to convey all the pain my country feels today. I simply let my hand move.
With each brushstroke, a lump rose in my throat, and my eyes filled with tears. My soul ached — from the realization that nothing would ever be “as before.”
It hurt from the losses, from the fear for loved ones who stayed there. It hurt to know how many people have fallen in this war. Yet, hope still flickered in my heart — the hope that one day it would all end, and Ukraine would have a bright future. That hope is embodied by the heart in the center of the composition.

A long time passed before I could return to the canvas again. The third layer — white with gold — became for me a symbol of purification, of faith in victory, of light, a new page of life — without war and without loss. It was important to me to capture the entire creation process, to show people every stage and all the emotions encrypted in the paint. I wanted the viewers to experience this story together with me.

When I presented the painting at an exhibition in Austin, I didn’t expect such a profound reaction. People came up to me, hugged me — many were crying.
I felt that I had been heard — that my art spoke louder than words. And that is the greatest reward for an artist.