Meet the Artist. In the studio of Pavlo Yarmolyk.

Recently we visited Ukrainian painter PAVLO YARMOLYK in his home town Lviv.
We were lucky to talk to him about his art, his sources of inspiration, and why a happy artist is a lazy artist.

• Which autobiographical traits do you incorporate in your works?

When I am creating my works I use various materials: wood, paper, metal…
I do not buy these materials on purpose. I find them during my creative process or in everyday life.

When I create a new work it is always generated from my memories, webbed from the pieces that mean something to me. This way it is easier for me to remain in the material world, to fixate time.

• In what ways did COVID-19 pandemic influence your work, if it did?

I can not say that the pandemic influenced my work greatly.
COVID-19 situation influenced it in that respect, that I got time for myself.

I started to invest my time and efforts in advertising my works and bringing them to a wider audience: created a website, started my collaboration with G.ART, etc.

I can not say that I felt some great changes. But, at least, now I can see that everything is moving to online, to digital form and you have to change, to do some other things, new things.

• Where do you draw your inspiration from?

I draw it from the works created by other artists, their exhibitions.
First and foremost it’s also nature, observing things being the way they really are.
As for classical works, I get inspired by Renaissance artists.
I also admire modern artists a lot. Especially – Ukrainian artist Tsoy (not to be confused with the famous rock-star under the same name)!
I get inspired by music, by people, by communication, by traveling…
Because through travels you do change a lot.

• • What does your perfect working day, your daily painting routine look like?

  First of all, you should have a great inner desire to paint. You have to burn with this desire; to want it desperately.

  If you do not have this desire, but you do understand that you have to go and work, you ” turn on” your ” magic incentive” and start working: you take a paintbrush in your hands, prepare and mix your paints, take your canvas and start to move.
  You push yourself towards the right idea, you start working on its realization.
  Of course, you have to be in a certain mood. It’s really great to work in this “right” mood.

  Silence. I love silence. Music, but only very light music.
  It always depends on the particular thing you are working on.

  Moreover, there is also such a thing as being too happy and content to be creative.

  If I am very happy, I feel enclosed in this happinesses and the last thing I want to do in such moments is paint.

  But when I have some inner struggles, when I live through some conflict or have some emotional pressure, stress; if I need to talk something out, show some emotions, it is very productive for my creativity. Because creative work is always a process of sublimation.

  You can express, take out everything that you feen into a certain material thing, object. This object continues to live separately and you get yourself free of it and do not hold all these emotions inside you.