Mariya Margolina

Year of birth: 1980.
Education: Artist in wood painting, director-educator, television director.
Discipline: Watercolor and pastel, wood painting, wood carving.
Website

What inspired your deep focus on animals, particularly horses, as the central subject in your art?

Since childhood, I have loved animals deeply and have been a vegetarian. Our family lives far from the city, and we have three cats, two dogs, a horse, a rabbit, and a guinea pig. All of our animals were rescued from the streets after suffering mistreatment from humans—even our horse. We saved her by buying her from a butcher. My connection with nature and animals is very close, and I feel them deeply. My pets and nature are my main sources of inspiration.

Mariya Margolina | Family

Can you tell us more about your experience working with horses and how it influences your artwork?

My first personal and close contact with horses happened five years ago when we bought our horse. She was just a one-year-old foal at the time, weighing 400 kg. Due to our lack of experience, she ran away into the fields and forests. We couldn’t catch her for 17 hours and were very worried that she might get hurt or end up on the highway. But in the middle of the night, she came to me on her own and followed my voice through a plowed field back home. That was the moment when our special bond was formed, and I truly connected with the consciousness of horses. As Shukshin once said: “When the last horse dies, humanity will collapse, because the best beings in the world are horses.”

How do you use watercolor and pastel mediums to convey the beauty and essence of animals in your pieces?

When creating my works, I often work intuitively, combining multiple techniques within a single piece.

Mariya Margolina | Black and white

What message do you hope to communicate through your art, especially regarding the relationship between humans and animals?

The message is very simple: we are merely guests on this planet, while animals are its true inhabitants. We must respect their lives and be grateful that they have allowed humanity to exist alongside them.

What are some challenges you face when painting animals, and how do you overcome them?

Challenges arise from a lack of experience, insufficient drawing skills, poor knowledge of anatomy, and not having enough visual references. The solution is very simple: draw, draw, and draw even more. Whatever is difficult or not turning out well—just keep practicing and drawing even more.

Mariya Margolina | Into the storm

What role does nature play in your art, and how do you integrate its beauty into your work?

Nature permeates everything around us. I love it, and when I work, I am filled with this feeling. The fullness of emotion helps this integration happen naturally.

How do you hope your artwork impacts viewers’ understanding and respect for wildlife and animals?

I simply hope that people will become kinder.

Mariya Margolina | I’m leaving