Pastel Wild Grapevine, artist Elena Polovna-Vasilyeva

• Artist: Elena Polovna-Vasilyeva
• Title: "Wild Grapevine"
• Year: 2023
• Size: 35 × 50 cm
• Materials: paper, oil pastel; unframed
• Original handmade artwork

"Wild Grapevine" is devoted to autumn thickets of a climbing plant. Flexible lilac and pink tendrils with sparse clusters of dark blue berries stretch along the upper edge of the sheet, and below them, filling almost the entire space, grows a dense mass of foliage. The leaves are shown at different angles and in different colours: some have already turned red and yellow, while others are still green and turquoise. Numerous blue berries are scattered between them. On the left a sprig with pinnate leaves rises from bottom to top, setting a vertical rhythm for the composition, and a light patch of sky is visible above the thickets. Seen up close, such a fragment of nature turns into an almost ornamental composition.

The work is executed in oil pastel on paper. The artist works with confident, broad strokes, laying the colour in dense layers and in places leaving the texture of the paper visible. The shape of each leaf is indicated with only a few movements of the pastel, yet together they form a lively, moving picture. This approach is close to the impressionist manner: what matters is not botanical precision but the impression of colour and light. The signature "Polovna O." and the year appear in the lower right corner.

The palette of the work is bright and festive. Red, orange, yellow and gold sit beside emerald, turquoise and deep blue, while the lilac tendrils at the top add a cool counterpoint. The combination of warm and cool hues conveys the moment when autumn is just beginning to colour the foliage and creates the feeling of a sunny, fresh day. The work is filled with a joyful, positive mood. The blue berries scattered across the surface create rhythm and link the warm and cool areas of the sheet.

Elena Polovna-Vasilyeva's professional path combines artistic practice with academic work. In 2013 she defended her PhD thesis in decorative and applied arts at the Lviv National Academy of Arts, in 2016 she received the academic title of associate professor, and in 2017 she became a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine.

This bright sheet will enliven a kitchen, living room, children's room or study, especially if the room is decorated in calm neutral tones. The work is unframed — it can be placed in a slim frame with a mat or combined with other landscapes by the artist into a series. It will make a fine gift for a woman, a colleague or a business partner, as well as for anyone who loves autumn motifs and rich colour. An original pastel sheet is especially rewarding when viewed up close, where the texture of the strokes is visible.