Anastasiya Ihnatovich

You describe yourself as an amateur oil painter, while also working as a photographer, neo-classical composer, pianist, and scientist. How do these different fields coexist within your creative identity, and do you see them as separate practices or as parts of one larger way of understanding the world?

Being a very inquisitive person, I find it rather challenging to concentrate on and be fully immersed in one particular field, so I have always had lots of different interests. For me, science and art in all its multiple forms are at extreme ends of the whole spectrum in terms of what side of the brain they use. While my natural tendency is the right side or creative arts, I really enjoy left brain or scientific activities and view them as equally important elements in order to maintain my personal harmonious equilibrium. Therefore, I lean toward assuming that all these aforementioned practices certainly serve as constituent parts of the larger way through which I versatilely develop my understanding and vision of the world.

Anastasiya Ihnatovich | Paris De L Amour | 2024

Your paintings are characterized by a very physical, expressive application of paint, with thick layers and highly visible brushwork. What attracts you to this tactile quality of oil paint, and how important is texture to the emotional experience of your work?

I would say that my emotional experience plays a crucial role in the creative process which can be described as mostly spontaneous. Quite often I feel a sudden emotionally-driven impulse to fully express myself and use art to convey my current authentic feelings, whatever they are (from deep sadness to sheer joy). This underlies my expressive style of painting, a kind of “action painting” which is vividly reflected in the highly visible, rich textures. Of particular relevance in this regard is also my absolute love for listening to classical music at the time of painting. Most often I prefer Mozart’s splendid compositions which make me unconsciously imitate the musical patterns in the brushstrokes. On this point, I find undeniable truth in the deeply meaningful quote by Walter Pater: “All art constantly aspires towards the condition of music.”

Light seems to be one of the central elements in your paintings, particularly through intense yellows, golds, and oranges. What does this luminous palette represent for you, and how do you use color to create a particular emotional atmosphere?

From a philosophical perspective, I consider light as the core essence of life itself, meaning that it symbolizes the ultimate reality of our existence. At the same time, light for me is also a clear manifestation of all that is highest, spiritual, divine or, to put it differently, otherworldly. Hence, of key importance is the presence of illumination in my paintings – it is definitely one of the inalienable elements which makes the artwork “alive”. For the most part, light is represented in my works in the gold, yellow, orange tones that I see as the expression of liveliness, vibrancy, radiance, inter alia. More specifically, light for me is the soul, the “anima” of the painting while the luminous palette is the way to visibly illustrate my personal perception and fascination with this embodiment of beauty in its purest, sublime form. Thus, to create a particular emotional atmosphere I focus mainly on the “colour” element of art with special emphasis on intense, fiery hues.

Anastasiya Ihnatovich | La Serenissima | 2025

In works such as Paris De L’Amour and La Serenissima, recognizable places are transformed through your personal painterly language rather than depicted realistically. What interests you about translating a real city or landmark into a more subjective image?

For me, the most fascinating and valuable thing about art in general, whether it is visual, auditory or written, is that it gives the creator a great opportunity to portray the “reality” through their own unique lens. In other words, it is the perfect way of turning the artist’s imaginative, inner world – which is partly based on their impressions drawn from the outer one – into something original combining both objective and subjective components. In a sense, it feels like magic which can be most strongly perceived in the creative process itself. The latter results in the “renaissance” of the real forms on a completely new, more precisely newborn, plane.

Anastasiya Ihnatovich | Arbor Vitae | 2024

When painting a place such as Paris or Venice, are you primarily responding to your own memories and experiences of that location, or can photographs, imagination, music, and other sources also become the starting point for a painting?

When painting I rely foremost on my “living” memories, experiences, and reflections connected to the specific place I’ve been at a particular time of my life. In case of Paris and Venice, I’ve been absolutely enchanted by these incomparably beautiful, awe-inspiring cities, which has later become the primary spark for my eponymous paintings. This being said, all other sources, especially atmospheric photographs and my own imagination, play a significant part as well giving me some additional sources of inspiration and encouragement during the creative process.

Photography captures an instant through a lens, whereas oil painting allows an image to develop slowly through layers and physical gestures. How has your experience as a photographer affected the way you observe and construct a painted image?

I think that my personal experience as a photographer has had a rather profound influence on the way I construct a painted image, notably in terms of the timeframe and techniques employed in this regard. To specify further, being a photographer, I aspire to “carpe diem” or seize a decisive moment as quickly and perfectly as possible. When it comes to creating a painting, I subconsciously take almost the same approach which accounts for my definite tendency to the loose, expressive brushwork, and “Alla prima” painting methods.

Anastasiya Ihnatovich | Serenum | 2024

There is a strong sense of energy and emotional intensity throughout these works, even when the subject itself is peaceful. What role does your own emotional state play while you are painting, and does the mood of a work usually exist before you begin or emerge during the process?

During the painting process my emotional state plays an absolutely pivotal role. Having an introverted personality, I turn feelings into “speech” through art which is my genuine love, therapy, shelter. To put it another way, I truly “rebirth” in my creative work. This is what could shed some light on this strong sense of energy, emotional intensity, and expressiveness that serve as inherent characteristics of my creations across all areas of interest, be it painting, photography or music, to a greater or lesser extent.