"Art Nouveau in Ukrainian style"

(oil painting on cardboard, 16X20, 2008)

"The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure."
Mikhail Baryshnikov

"There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted."
Henri Matisse

"Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one."
Stella Adler

Art nouveau is one of my favorite art movements. Curvaceous, organic and feminine it appeals to the romantic in me. I've always been particularly captivated by the artwork of Alphons Mucha. I find his soft decorative style so pleasing and charming that whenever I see it I feel as if I'm being carried away into some magic fairy-land. I feel like a child again and nothing bad or sad can ever happen to me. Gustav Klimt on the other hand makes me feel like a grown-up woman and a force of nature. And then there is artwork by Mikhail Vrubel that makes me think about all the mysterious things in life that I have yet to discover. Art nouveau touches my soul and stirs in me emotions that I can never get from paintings by modern artists such as Pollock or de Kooning. Call me old-fashioned, but I still prefer unique ideas over unique painting techniques.