Painting Golden River, artist Serhiy Shvydiuk

• Artist: Serhiy Shvydiuk
• Title: "Golden River"
• Year: 2024
• Size: 78 × 92 cm
• Materials: canvas, oil
• Original hand-painted artwork

The vertical landscape "Golden River" depicts a quiet stream winding through tall grass. Almost a third of the canvas is given to a clear sky against which tree crowns rise: on the left a tall tree with a branching, almost lacy silhouette, on the right a dense group of trees and bushes. Below lies a wide field, and from the distance a narrow ribbon of water descends toward the viewer, curving around a bush in the foreground. Trees are reflected in the dark water, and in the lower part of the canvas pinkish-white glints of sky flash up, making the river seem to glow.

The painting is done in oil with impasto, clearly visible strokes that follow the direction of grass and foliage and give the surface texture and movement. The artist draws on the experience of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists: he conveys the state of the light rather than the outlines of objects and replaces natural colours with more intense ones. The trees are painted as blue and dark green masses with orange flashes along their edges, as if lit by the setting sun. The signature "Швидюк" and the year 2024 are in the lower right corner.

The colour scheme is based on the opposition of golden orange and blue. The sky shifts smoothly from turquoise-mint at the top to lemon yellow at the horizon, the field glows with copper and ochre, and the trees and their reflections are saturated with cobalt, ultramarine and bottle green. Pink highlights on the water soften the contrast and add tenderness. The result is the feeling of a warm late-summer evening, when the sun is low and everything is tinted gold, a calm and contemplative mood.

Serhiy Shvydiuk graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture in Kyiv. His main source of inspiration is nature and the simple things that surround us every day.

The 78 × 92 cm size and vertical format allow the painting to be hung on a narrow wall, by a staircase, in a corridor or in a living room, study or bedroom. The warm gold of the field goes well with wood, linen, terracotta and sand shades, while the blue accents echo cool-toned textiles and decor. The work suits both a country house and a city apartment and will make a heartfelt gift for a nature lover, for parents or for a colleague who values painting full of light and colour.