SOLO EXHIBITION
SOLO EXHIBITION
SOLO EXHIBITION
The World's Leading Contemporary Fine Art Gallery
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The World's Leading Contemporary Fine Art Gallery
Volha
Valasatava
BELARUS
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"I imagine watercolors as wild mustangs, which cannot be completely subdued, but with which you can make friends and embark on a daring journey."
Volha was born on March 11th, 1985, in a rural area of Belarus.
This work portrays my grandfather, whose life wasn’t so easy. I love talking to him; it always brings many interesting recollections, inspirational life stories, and dialogs. He enjoys telling tales of his past and remembering his father. They’ve all worked very hard, countryside life was difficult in the post-World War II years. Sometimes, during a conversation, he gets lost in thoughts, as if he were plunging deep into memories. Like in this painting, he looks at you, but in fact his gaze is directed deep inside.
Art has been her passion ever since she was a child. She has loved copying images from books, unleashing my imagination, and transferring her thoughts and feelings to paper.
This work portrays my grandmother, who worked very hard in the past. She doesn’t like to talk about herself, but she loves to ask questions. She often asks me questions about my life. Now she is ill and cannot walk, and she doesn’t like herself like that. She always asks me to paint her as young, but I like capturing a state of "here and now." Here, in this painting, her gaze is full of sadness, pain, worries, and questions but is genuine.
She was fortunate enough to have an excellent art teacher in high school who supported her passion for art. Her teacher shared her experience and taught Volha to believe in herself.
"About 2 years ago, I rediscovered my passion for watercolors."
Volha graduated from the art and graphics department of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank with a degree in teaching arts.
"I am constantly learning new things and experimenting with different drawing genres. I continue to grow as an artist and search for my personal style."
During her studies, she met wonderful teachers who helped grow her aspirations.
My father loves to repair, tinker, and invent technical crafts. He has a garage where he keeps all the tools. Today he shows us some of his new inventions! The sunlight flows through an open door like stage lights shining on this part of the garage. This story seemed incredibly interesting to me!
"With watercolor, every new drawing is a challenge; it is very invigorating and constantly motivates you to grow as an artist."
I enjoy walking in the woods, especially in pinewoods that are full of air and have a special ambience! The sun was capricious this day, occasionally peering through the clouds. But I got lucky and saw an interesting interplay of light and shadows on the pathway among the purple-pink pine trunks! It looked incredibly picturesque to me!
She painted a lot in oils, experimented with pastels, and was engaged in arts and crafts such as ceramics and artistic leather processing.
My parents always lived in the country, and they have always had livestock, including chickens. When I was little, I loved going to the henhouse to check if there were any new eggs or if the baby chickens had hatched. I do this even now when I come visit my parents. Once I witnessed this scene: a hen sitting on eggs, very alert and motionless, with a bright light shining from the back. Certainly, I could not resist this temptation and captured it in watercolors.
Watercolor is a marvelous technique. Volha rediscovered it a few years ago.
This is the door to my father's garage, rather old and shabby, with peeling paint and a rusty, painted-over bolt. The sunlight, illuminating every detail, brings out all the rough beauty of this old barn full of stories and memories
Watercolor is impatient and spontaneous. It doesn't tolerate corrections. She is constantly learning new things and experimenting with different drawing genres. She continues to grow as an artist and search for her personal style.
One day I was taking a walk in the woods and saw stumps overgrown by moss at the edge of the woods. They were illuminated with sunlight, had an interesting texture, and looked very picturesque! And even though there were no trees around, on one of the stumps I saw the beginning of a new life—a sprout. Life carries on!
"I am constantly learning new things and experimenting with different drawing genres."
We were cleaning the old country house of our great-grandparents, who are no longer with us, when we found these interesting bolts. Long ago they were used, and now they keep their stories under a thick layer of rust.
She appreciates the spontaneity and unpredictability of watercolor. It gives an ability to control but more often you don’t have any control at all.
It was a quiet summer night; you could only hear grasshoppers chirping. Children were sleeping peacefully in a tent, we were having tea, and we were talking. I looked at the lake illuminated by the moon. It looked like a bowl or cradle, surrounded by a forest. A light fog had already descended, and the air was humid. I was looking at the lake, trying to memorize the scene. Later, I tried to express my impressions on paper in watercolors.
Every new drawing is a challenge; it is very invigorating and constantly motivates you to grow as an artist.
One day I was walking through a pine forest in the spring, and I saw how the sunlight broke through a dense canopy to play on tree trunks and hide in mosses. The shadows were deep blue and purple. The texture of the bark looked very interesting! I admired this scene for a while and then put my impression on paper.