Self Portrait with Saint George Cathedral 1933

Oleksa Novakivskyi made this painting, Self Portrait with Saint George Cathedral, using oil paint, though we're not sure exactly when. The first thing that grabs you is the color: yellows, oranges, pinks and lilacs. Look at the texture, how the paint is dabbed on, thick in some places and thin in others. This kind of mark making is really physical. The building itself seems to grow out of the landscape with the same brushstrokes and colors used for both. It's like the artist is saying that everything is connected. Look at how the tree in the foreground is a swirl of paint strokes, it's as if Novakivskyi is inviting us into the painting, to experience the scene as he did. It feels like a cousin to the work of Van Gogh, but with its own unique sense of place and light. It reminds us that art isn't about making something perfect, but about seeing the world in a new way.