Painting Ukraine the Protector, artist Orest Tsyupko

• Artist: Orest Tsyupko
• Title: "Ukraine the Protector"
• Year: 2024
• Size: 70 × 100 cm
• Materials: acrylic on canvas
• Original hand-painted artwork

"Ukraine the Protector" is a vertical composition centred on a woman in a blue veil who tenderly holds a swaddled infant. Her face, eyes closed, is bowed towards the child; a yellow necklace rests at her throat, and a golden disc glows behind her head like a halo. The figure seems to grow out of the architecture: churches with onion domes and crosses, arched doorways, walls and steps crowd around her. The mother's white sleeve flows smoothly into a pale arch below, so that the human image merges with the town she embraces and shields. Along the bottom of the canvas run stripes and a lozenge ornament reminiscent of embroidery.

The work is painted in acrylic in a stylised, flat manner. The space is divided into clear geometric planes: rectangles, arches and the semicircles of domes form a mosaic in which figure and architecture share one rhythm. Most planes are filled with even colour, while in certain areas — the masonry, the sky, the golden halo — the artist leaves a lively, textured brushstroke and dragged layers of paint. The artist's signature, "Цюпко", appears in the lower right corner.

The palette is built on blue and yellow, the colours of the Ukrainian flag, complemented by white, ochre, terracotta and brown. The deep ultramarine background with yellow flashes in the upper right corner suggests an evening or pre-dawn sky, while the pale garments of mother and child become the main source of light. The mood is quiet and focused: an image of maternal protection, prayer and hope addressed to the native land.

Orest Tsyupko is a contemporary Ukrainian painter, a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, and since 2012 he has headed the Khust City Art Gallery. His work combines elements of realism, Art Nouveau and symbolism, with architectural motifs and expressive colour holding a special place.

The large vertical format of 70 × 100 cm lets the painting become the focal point of a living room, study or hallway. The rich blue and yellow palette works well against light neutral walls and in contemporary interiors with clean-lined furniture. It makes a meaningful gift for someone close, for a mother, or for anyone who values Ukrainian themes in art.