Sketch for "Nika" 1963

This is “Sketch for Nika” by Hryhorii Havrylenko, a work in a private collection made with what looks like ink on paper. The nervous energy of the lines really gets me going. The way Havrylenko lets his marks build up in layers, kind of like he's feeling his way around the form – you can almost see him thinking. There's a real push and pull between the flatness of the page and the illusion of depth. The hatched lines across the chest give it volume, but then the flat, almost cartoonish face pulls you right back. I love how raw and immediate it feels, like a fleeting thought captured on paper. It reminds me a bit of Matisse's line drawings, that same sense of searching and finding form with just a few strokes. It's a beautiful reminder that art isn't about perfection, it's about the messy, wonderful process of seeing and making.