Kamianets-Podilskyi 2000

This painting of Kamianets-Podilskyi, by Yuriy Khymych, looks like it was made with oil on canvas, and the artist worked at speed to capture a certain light. It’s a bold landscape, with strong blues, oranges, and pinks; Khymych coaxes a sense of perspective with dynamic, rhythmic mark-making. I can imagine him making countless adjustments, shifting forms, and refining colors until the scene felt right to him. What was Khymych thinking as he painted this? I see him, brush in hand, balancing observation and invention to create this unique place. The paint isn’t too thick, but it’s not too thin, either. There is a real feeling for the surface, a sensuality that is deeply satisfying. And what about those two figures walking along the path? They are a portal, a way of seeing, thinking, and experiencing the world. Artists are always in conversation, aren’t they? They are constantly borrowing, stealing, and reinventing. Painting is a form of expression that’s always open to interpretation, an invitation for us to bring our own experiences and understandings to the canvas.