10 Questions with Ulyana Korol

Ulyana Korol is an experienced painter based in Spain, whose works have been featured in solo and group exhibitions internationally. She works in the technique of palette knife oil painting.
Ulyana draws her artistic inspiration from traveling. Her canvases emit a warm light and highlight the beauty of nature. The main idea of her art is to transfer the emotion of happiness and love for nature.

Ulyana Korol was born in 1980 in Lviv, Ukraine. She comes from a family of doctors. From early childhood, she showed creative skills, so parents encouraged this in every possible way. The desire to create is reflected in Ulyana's first personal exhibition at nine.
She graduated from the Lviv National University, the Faculty of International Relations, and later - the Law Faculty.

Living in a city rich in cultural and artistic events, Ulyana visited various art exhibitions and events, communicated with artists, drew new knowledge and inspiration. Art has never been ceasing to be a part of her life. She continued to draw at every opportunity. However, after becoming a mother of three, there was less time for painting.
Later, as the children have grown up, Ulyana often asked herself, "Why don't I increase the talent given to me from above?"

Eventually, as if an invisible hand drove her back to the dream – Ulyana has bought canvases, oil paints and begun to paint with greater passion. It has happened in the summer of 2014. The artist's works are held in numerous private collections in the U.S., Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and Asia.

ulyanakorol.com | @ulyana.korol.art

ARTIST STATEMENT

“My passion for nature comes from my childhood. Flowers were my favorite toys. My mother often brought me different flowers from our garden, so I had fun playing with them and admiring their beauty. Having taken colored pencils at a very young age, firstly I drew flowers.

I draw my artistic inspiration from the natural world that envelopes me: flora, water, or light reflections. Many amazing subjects often make me literally "hunt" them with the camera and later paint them in my studio. My passion for photography has had an impact on my art. I capture objects in macro format. Subsequently, the idea of macro capturing has been applied to my paintings of water. I'm fascinated with the reflections of light in the water.

Color is very important for me while painting. I care about the purity and brightness of colors, as for me, it's the best way to express how I am fascinated with the theme of Nature. For more juiciness, I use the technique of palette knife oil painting. It makes me delighted to combine textured brush strokes with the image of a graceful bending of a flower or the transparency of a sea wave.

I think that nature is the most skilled artist. That's why I never feel a lack of inspiration, aiming in my works to show its bright, unique, and fragile beauty noticed by me."

- Ulyana Korol

INTERVIEW

Tell us a little more about your background. How did you start making art?

I've been painting since my early childhood. When I was a child, my parents owned a garden with flowers, and my mother often brought me flowers from our garden instead of the usual toys. I admired them, and I think that's what prompted me to express my admiration with colored pencils. The first thing I drew was a flower. I am grateful to my parents, who supported my endeavors in art in every possible way. From an early age, I attended fine art studios, participated in children's competitions and exhibitions, and graduated from art school. However, the realization of my vocation came much later, when I have already been raising three children. I often asked myself: why didn't I develop the talent given to me from above? Finally, as if an invisible hand took me to an art store, where I bought oil paints, canvases and began to paint with even greater passion and awareness that it is mine.

How would you define yourself as an artist?

I love fine art, and I'm in love with nature. I work with oils and with a palette knife. It makes me delighted to combine textured strokes with the image of a graceful bending of some flower petal or water transparency. I'm an artist aiming to draw attention with my art to our nature's beauty because very often, we don't notice it in our daily worries. We'd remember that happiness lies in simple things.

In the Shades of Transparency. Ulyana Korol©

What is your favorite part of your work as an artist, and what do you enjoy the most about being an artist?

Each stage of the painting process is important to me: from creative search, touching to a clean canvas, mixing paints, and applying them until the signature. But it is probably most pleasant to realize at the end that a part of my soul, my thoughts, and experiences were invested in the whole process.

The most important thing for me as an artist is the feeling of freedom that gives creativity. That's why I probably will never stop being an artist.

Your work conveys peaceful feelings and happiness. How important is this aspect for you, and how do you transfer this onto the canvas?

Real art is the exchange of energy. I put emotions of happiness and ease of life into my works, and when they find a response in the hearts of my audience, I get even more inspiration to create.

Your close-up paintings of flowers are so beautifully balanced that they almost look like abstract paintings. How did you choose this subject for your work, and what does it represent for you?

My passion for photography had a great impact on the way I paint. I have always had my camera with me, and I used to take a lot of pictures of the same object but from different angles. Then I was obsessed with capturing flowers in macro format. Subsequently, I transferred this technique to my art. The close-up image of the object I am painting allows me to look at it as if from within and convey the mood, emotion, or the very essence of what I am depicting. That's probably why I manage to balance realism and abstraction in my art.

Where do you find inspiration? Any particular artist that influences you?

I love traveling, so nature is my inexhaustible source of artistic inspiration. I often literally hunt with the camera to save some fascinating plot in order to later convey on the canvas my impressions of what I have seen.

I feel myself very close to the inspiring art of the American artist Georgia O'Keefe, who is known for her giant flowers. But I am also very interested in her images of water, which primarily convey the emotion, the feelings of the artist.

Another artist whose works I will always admire is Kateryna Bilokur - an artist from my motherland - Ukraine. She conveyed a love for her land, for Ukraine, through the image of flowers. And these seemingly familiar flowers looked just cosmic, telling their own stories.

How do you differentiate yourself from other artists? What do you feel makes your work unique and truly your own?

As I mentioned, I want my work to bring light positive energy and make people pay attention to the beauty of nature that surrounds us, noticing it and admiring it, and taking care of it. I think the uniqueness and characteristic feature of my works is the simultaneous combination of juicy strokes of paint with a light, almost airy image of a delicate flower petal or the transparency of a wave and a subtle sense of color and emotion of happiness.

What obstacles do you face in making and exhibiting your work?

Truly, there aren't any serious obstacles for me in making art. I feel very grateful to my family, especially to my husband, who always supports me and encourages me to move forward on my creative path. As for exhibiting, the global pandemic has changed the general order, so many plans for exhibitions have had to be changed. However, now many events take place online, and it has become common. Therefore, it has become even easier to spread my art.

Any new project, collaboration or exhibition you would like to share with us? What are you looking forward to in the near future?

At this period of time, I keep working on the project "In the shades of transparency". Its idea originated a few years ago after visiting the Greek island Thassos. I was so impressed by the sea waves' shades that I decided to work on this topic in more detail. Now, living by the sea and watching it every day, I began to feel differently about how I want to convey its mood on the canvas, moving in a more abstract expression direction. I think this project still needs time to fully mature. In the near future, when the restrictions are over, I plan to show a series of new works about water and actively participate in some interesting online projects, not forgetting about my macro flowers, in particular peonies.

Finally, Share something you would like the world to know about you?

I feel happy that once I have listened to the voice of my heart and followed the path of my vocation, which fills my life with meaning and allows me to share my worldview with others. Therefore, I can advise everyone who stands at the crossroads searching for themselves to listen to their inner voice and follow their vocation.

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