About the Artist

artist en plein air

Contemporary impressionist artist Lena Kurovska was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, were she still lives.

Lena graduated from The National Academy of Fine Art and Architecture of Ukraine, where a lot of attention was paid to the studies and painting of the human body. After the Academy, she became very interested in outdoor painting. Lena believes that the direct contact with nature helps artworks to look alive and fresh and also express the inner side of the plein-air artist.  At the same time the contact with nature is a permanent circle – impression-idea, idea-impression. She often paints the same familiar places a few times and every time the result is different, as the understanding and impression are different.

“In the cultures of different countries are very similar painters. Apart from the Ukrainian colourists I am a fan of Canadian artists Group of Seven, American artists Edgar Payne, Maynard Dixon, Scottish colourists and others”

Most of the time Lena is painting outdoors. To paint a large size artwork, she combines the work en plain air and in her studio. Small paintings she can finish in one day. It is very important to adopt an idea to the changing state of the landscape. The work starts from small outdoor sketches, composition idea, the beginning of the work in the studio, then continuation en plein air etc. Small landscapes, painted en plein air have its special value. They are able to catch this momentarily unrepeatable impression.

“In a small sketch, it is very important to catch and show the moment and disappearing impression. Landscape painting is very similar to meditation. It is a constant concentration, a study of feelings when you have to select the most important, what creates the base for the individual. One can admire the nice painting forever and not to be bores of it. Simplicity is very important. Very often less is better.”

Lena works with oil painting a la prima that needs quite high speed of work. This technique requires the ability to create and keep in your head the whole artwork. There is no really time for hesitation and corrections. The weather and light change all the time. All thinking and planning work is done before she starts working. Sometimes the idea is spontaneous. It is almost impossible to guess what the landscape painter (artist) will see every time in the same familiar place. Still life is also the artist’s passion. 

“Still life paintings with peonies for example, are similar to a landscape painting. Flowers fade quickly and change as quickly as the weather. I paint them outdoors as well as in my studio. But wherever you work, it is important to find a balance of the form and organize the colouring“

Exhibitions

2012 – Solo exhibition “Air, Light, Colour””, the UN House, Kyiv, Ukraine
2011 – Spring exhibition, The Biscuit Factory Art Gallery, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
2007 – ZiZi Gallery, London Solo Exhibition
2008 – East European Artists, the UK
2007 – Chrismas Show, EE Fine Art, Cambridge, UK
2007 – 60th exhibition of the Chelsea Art Society, London, UK
2007 – Gallery In Cork Street, London, UK
2006 – The Mall Galleries, London, UK
2006 – 59th exhibition of the Chelsea Art Society, London, UK
2003 – Group Exhibition, Grifon Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine
3-26.11.1999 – Solo exhibition “New Impressionism”, Soni Gallery, London, UK

Lena’s artworks are:

In  the Art Museum of Taras Shevtchenko in Beijing, China. In private collections in the USA (California, New Jersey, Michigan, Georgia, Florida and others), Canada, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Hong Kong and Japan.

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