Watercolor Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Lutsk, artist Valentina Olympiiuk-Vinnikova

• Artist: Valentina Olympiiuk-Vinnikova
• Title: "Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Lutsk"
• Year: 2025
• Size: 31 × 44 cm
• Materials: paper, watercolour
• Original handmade artwork

This vertical watercolour depicts an old church seen from a square on a sunny day. In the centre rises a baroque façade with a pediment, a round window and a cross; behind it a blue dome with a lantern is visible, and on either side stand two towers crowned with green-blue cupolas and crosses. In front of the façade runs a gallery under a red-brown roof, with light walls and windows below. Lamp posts with red flower baskets line the church. On the left the composition is framed by the yellow wall of a neighbouring building and a bush with scarlet flowers, on the right by green trees. The lower third of the sheet is taken up by an empty square with soft blue shadows.

The work is executed in watercolour on paper in a lively, free manner. The artist paints wet-in-wet and in glazes: the sky is created with broad washes in which blue runs spread naturally and leave white clouds of untouched paper. The architecture is rendered more precisely — cornices, windows and pilasters are indicated with thin lines and light shadows, but without dry draughtsman-like detail. The square is painted in transparent washes showing the characteristic watercolour blooms and runs that make the sheet especially fresh. The artist's monogram in a circle is in the lower left corner.

The palette is light and festive. The warm ochre and lemon-yellow walls of the church contrast with the turquoise-blue sky and blue domes, while terracotta roofs and scarlet flowers add warm accents. The greenery of the trees on the right and the bush on the left frame the main motif. Bluish-lilac shadows on the square convey bright sunshine and the coolness of stone. The mood of the sheet is a quiet summer day in an old town, when the air is clear and clouds drift slowly over the square. The empty square seems to invite the viewer to step forward and approach the church.

Valentina Olympiiuk-Vinnikova works mainly in oil and also creates watercolours. She has taken part in exhibitions and plein-airs since 1997 and teaches drawing and painting at the Kharkiv College of Technology and Design; her paintings are held in state and private collections in Ukraine, China and Italy.

At 31 × 44 cm, this watercolour will fit well into a living room, study or office, and will look especially striking in a mat and a slim frame. The light palette suits almost any interior, from classic to contemporary. The work will be a memorable gift for those who love Lutsk and Volhynia, architecture and travel in Ukraine, as well as for a colleague or partner who appreciates lively works on paper. The sheet is unframed.