Peonies 1948

Kateryna Bilokur painted these "Peonies" with oil on canvas, and what strikes me first is the way she layers the colours, almost like watercolour, to build up these ethereal flowers. There’s a delicate touch to the brushwork, especially in the petals, which gives the painting a dreamlike quality. The background is so smooth, like a faded fresco, which makes the textures of the flowers pop. Look at the way she renders the peony in the center; each petal seems to catch the light differently, using shades of pink and white to create volume. It’s as if she’s captured a fleeting moment of beauty, the kind you only glimpse in a garden at dawn. Bilokur reminds me a bit of Frida Kahlo, with her unflinching eye and her love of nature. Ultimately, though, art is about more than just what we see. It’s about feeling, about opening up a space for new ideas and possibilities.