Rook (chess) Painting

I'm a self-taught artist. My journey into art has been both simple and complicated at the same time. My profession has nothing to do with art, but I’ve always admired it. Paintings by great artists have always felt like pure magic to me - like something created by real-life wizards. I’ve always had a deep respect for artists, and I still do. Life happened in such a way that I ended up picking up a paintbrush myself. But let me start from the beginning. I used to live in a beautiful city in the south of Ukraine. I had a settled, peaceful, and happy life there. But in an instant, everything changed - for me and for so many others. On the first day of the war, my beloved city was occupied. I had to leave everything behind: my home, my family, the people I love… really, my whole life. And I had to head into the unknown. As fate would have it, I ended up far away from home. Believe me, finding yourself in a foreign country without planning it is incredibly hard. No matter where I am physically, my heart and soul are still back home, with the people I love. Before the war, I used to come across videos about art therapy now and then. I never paid much attention to them. But suddenly, I remembered them. I started watching again. And then I decided to give it a try - picked up some brushes and paint. My first drawings looked like something I might’ve done as a kid in elementary school. But I didn’t care - I just threw myself into it. Drawing helped take my mind off things. I painted a lot, and I poured all my effort into it. I hope that my work brings you warmth and positivity.