Straw star. Twilight purple Painting

My name is Olha Matviienko. I am a watercolor artist based in Kyiv, Ukraine. I began with botanical painting. The full-scale invasion in 2022 became a turning point. After four months as a refugee in Croatia, I returned to Kyiv in July 2022. That experience of displacement and homecoming now shapes my practice. Today, my work develops along four strands: • I create calm, positive artwork on botany, animals, and traditions. It is my way of emotional recovery centers on close observation and the joy of process; I aim to convey joy, peace, and stillness. • I paint city series that explore attachment to place. A home city can be loved, resisted, and longed for at once; ordinary streets and familiar trees hold our strongest memories. • I examine the psychological impact of war on individual and collective life, tracing shifts in emotion and the coping strategies that help people live within a new reality. • I research Ukrainian culture, traditions, and customs, translating them into a contemporary visual language.