"Parallel Realities" Painting

I am a life long artist and started my creative journey as a child. I was born in Poland and was enrolled in the arts as a four-year-old, winning a Polish national art award for a child artist at eight years old. At 14, I moved to Canada and attended Cawthra Park Secondary School for a specialized arts program. I studied at York University, receiving a Fine Arts degree with a double major in Psychology. After graduation, I also completed a program at Ryerson Polytechnic University for Graphic Communications.

While moving through various themes, the subject of flowers is very uplifting and inspirational for me. I take illuminated photographs to create compositions to be painted on canvas. I enjoy the large format because it makes me feel like I get lost inside the flower's beauty. I tend to choose dynamic compositions of peonies and tulips as they exhume a sense of movement and facets of the whole.

I am fascinated with illumination from within; to me, it exemplifies the soul shining through. Light is an omnipresent force that permeates through physical matter and gives it life.
I see peonies as symbols of humans. The dynamic shapes and variety of petals remind me of our facets/parts creating and completing a whole. Each petal is unique and an opportunity for growth towards spiritual evolution. It may be more or less illuminated by light; however, it is an integral part of a whole flower. The twists and turns of the nature of the petals remind me of life and our paths.

My spiritual and meditative practices have exposed me to the importance of chakras, which are energy centres in our bodies. Peonies also remind me of chakras; the dynamics of petals look like they are in a constant movement. Each painting of the flower has a specific "energy signature", which evokes an emotion, feeling and visual impact resonating with the viewer; many times, it also has a healing quality.

The intricacies of petals and the sense of movement resemble a never ending dance with its various spectrums of light and dark and the beautiful outcome it creates in a composition. It symbolizes our journey through life.