The canvas is a mirror of my imagination

Figurative painting in various compositions seems to me to be the most appropriate way of sharing my view of the world with others, and, most importantly, it is a means of showing the world and preserving it.

The mirror of imagination – it is a canvas reflecting subconscious imagery, filled with the impressions of everyday life. The time preserved in colour and form on the canvas becomes a major painting inspiration. I find reasons and motivation to paint in the people I meet, in the things around me, in the urban space or surrounding landscape. They all emanate energy, which is both motivating and inspiring.

My compositions are close to the ideas contained in the works of surrealists, which, in my youth, had a great impact on my artistic endeavours.

Automatic activities release the images hidden in the subconscious, which, in combination with the visible nature, help in painting. A direct contact with nature is a necessity for me. It decides about the form. On the other hand, imagination saturates the scene with content, colour and energy. The painting is created in the process of slowly filling the form with colour.

“A new subject” – it is a slogan which is often articulated by painters and, as such, it has no meaning for me.

I am here and now and this is exactly my new subject. Each new day and each newly-met person provides a motivation and a chance to observe. This observation is both a revelation and an inspiration for the new composition. There is no need to wait for inspiration by embarking on a search for art. Art is in us; it is an integral part of ourselves.

Realism exists as a subject and cause. It inspires and endows with meaning. From the perspective of history of art, the concept of realism can be understood as a set of established rules defining the style. However, new rules are constantly being created by analysing the work of old masters and contemporary painting. These motifs intertwine and maybe are not even new, but seen from a different perspective of time and place, they constantly verify our attitude towards the meaning of realism.

I care about a dialogue with masters of painting, who have been working for the hundreds of years, embedding in their paintings timeless motifs on the existence and condition of man.

This dialogue is essential in order to understand and contemplate the reality of the surrounding world. Moreover, the work of old masters allows us to confront contexts and hierarchies of opinions on the changing world. The world, under the dynamic change of technological progress, offers the artist an ever-growing set of tools, forcing us to strengthen the dynamics and expressiveness – it forces us to accelerate our activity. Speed and dynamism are not necessarily the factors that improve the quality of the painting. In my work I try not to work under the pressure of time, but rather prefer to contemplate the creative moment, savouring it. The continuity and rhythm of the creative process is in its essence a contemplation of realism.

Verisimilitude in portraiture, which is an aim when we take our first steps learning to draw, at some point becomes unnecessary. What becomes more important is to see and portray yourself in a landscape, still life or an image of another person, as if in a mirror reflection.

While painting a picture, I become its director and I make use of objects, landscapes or figures. Figures become actors, playing their act on the painting stage, with which they create a unity. Each element of the composition plays an important role in the picture, revealing its nature, thus, creating in a direct and natural way a mystical world, on the surface resembling its own self-portrait.

My subject matter and my materials are extremely important in the creative process. Thus, I always do the craft-related task myself, as they have a decisive impact on the type of picture that will emerge. The creation of a painting is a ritual, which naturally consists of such activities as stretching your own canvas on a frame, priming and grounding it. These activities are extremely significant and important to the continuity of the creative process. In fact, they are critical to the quality of the painting, clarity and colour fastness. In the painting technique I use a multilayer method of saturating colour, creating the substance of space and form.

Canvases are a type of mirrors, which, on its white prime surface, reflect images directed by the imagination, the subconscious and one’s awareness of the world. All the above are manifested in the subject which is central and closest to my heart, that is Man, his journey in time and space, relations with other people resulting from forced, accidental or intended encounters, as well as dialogues and monologues aiming at harmony.