Have you ever wondered what it means to be a “free artist” in a country at war? I think I’ve experienced a lot of interesting things and a lot of unusual things. My colleagues and I were doing our practice without lights – that’s when the power went out all over the country, and the schedules didn’t work. There was a charged cell phone and I could shine a flashlight. That’s the situation I was telling you about and showing you pictures of how it actually happens. I often sat on the kitchen floor, which is the warmest room of the apartment, and painted on canvases.

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Now I want to tell you about the plenary.

I got a call from an artist I know who suggested I go to the peninsula by the river. We quickly packed up, and put our canvases, sketch pads, folding chairs, and paint bags (all the things an artist could use) in her car.

We were very lucky because it was the only day in a long time when it didn’t rain. The sun’s rays warmed the ground and the first flowers bloomed on the trees. The apricots are the first to bloom in our area and are quickly shedding. For several years it was impossible to get to the plains during the flowering of apricot trees because of the cold.

We spent the whole day in the sun and were very happy.

It must be said that this place has a history of different peoples in different centuries. A long time ago there was a Polish fortress Kodak over the Dnieper River. Our river is about 2 kilometers wide in some places wider. In this place, it starts to make a bend and widens to form a group of islands. For this reason, it was here that the fortification was fought for by Polish and Ukrainian soldiers in the past.

Later, by order of the Russian Tsarina Catherine, many Ukrainian military fortifications were razed to the ground. Today, only the earth ramparts remain of the structures.

I emphasize that you can’t be everywhere. Everything that was available and normal in peacetime is forbidden for security reasons. Many things may become unavailable in freedom of choice and movement because of the war.

Throughout the sketch, there were no people around at all, although this is a favorite place for townspeople. Locals from nearby settlements often used to come here for a picnic and townspeople came to admire the wild scenery.

At one point, a car with military personnel drove up to us. We didn’t pay any attention to them and continued to draw. It was territorial defense. They were watching us and even asked: are we really artists? We let them take pictures of our paintings and we confirmed it. You won’t believe it, but I have a certificate confirming that I am an artist. This time no such confirmation was needed. I think someone else would not have stood all day in the wind with a brush near an easel and painted flowering trees.

Now I have a beautiful picture created in nature in 2023. It is a completely different experience than painting without lighting on the kitchen floor.

As I was writing this text, I had the urge to ask you a question. Have you ever had an extreme situation related to art? Write below in the comments.

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