Artist’s Note
I am mentor to a young student who was born in Russia, now a Canadian. She is saddened by the Russia/Ukraine conflict, as I am sure we all are.
During one of our sessions, she showed me a small watercolour she completed about a week ago, where she had painted a chamomile flower (Russia) and a sunflower (Ukraine) flanking a lily (peace). The flowers were separated. We talked about how to engage the emblems such that peace could dominate.
This inspired me to create this watercolour, which is very much in the making. I completed an acrylic mixed media painting about two years ago, which started as a three-tier composition at the base of which was hell and damnation, with Charon steering people across the river Styx, to the higher level of enlightenment and peace and tranquility. I have shown you this before, but believe there is much more to this painting than I imagined. There is a parallel to the base of “Charon” which I will rename “Conflict to Hope”. I do not think “War to Peace” is finished! I feel that “Conflict to Hope” is complete, now I have a responsible title for it
I would really like to hear your views.
” War to Peace” is a work in progress. I am considering a background to illustrate a peaceful landscape, or perhaps an enchanted landscape, similar to the background to “Conflict to Hope”. The base of the painting describes the atrocities of war which I now believe has to be more defined and distinct.
The flag of Ukraine has a bright blue top, representing the sky, and a yellow base, representing Sunflowers, which is why I chose those colours as background. P.S. Many people who have visited my STUDIO5 have engaged me in conversation about this painting, and everyone has made interesting commentary.
