An exhibition to colour your life by Olga Kolesnik - Opening Reception Saturday 16th June,2018

Olga lives by the motto "Live on the bright side of life", and her solo exhibition entitled 'Tell Me A Tale' reflects her love of still life and the stories behind her creations; the wildlife visiting her backyard in Sydney.

Olga was one of 25 artists selected by ArtSHINE industries to represent Australia at the recent SURTEX Art Licensing Show held in New York City during May.

Olga Kolesnik writes:

"Writers communicate their ideas through poems and novels. As a visual artist, I tell stories about colours, flowers and people through my paintings. I see a white canvas as a blank untouched sheet of paper awaiting for a poet to start writing on it. Sometimes my story takes over the whole canvas. It's because I want to say so much, it spreads far and wide, right to the edges of the canvas. I stop painting when I feel I have finished the story."

Olga's 'Tea Time' still life series tell stories of people. Although they remain out of the picture, their presence is subtly felt. In her 'Language of Nature' series, Olga tries to translate a mysterious language of flowers and birds into words describing her human feelings, emotions, desires and aspirations. 

Excited at her solo show, Olga said, "We are all storytellers. Our stories can be inspirational or philosophical, tragic, sad or joyful, mysterious or romantic, about love or adventure. But what they all have in common is they are unique. I wanted my paintings, my stories, to be as they are now, before your eyes. Loud, bold, bright and exciting."

As a contemporary colourist, Olga describes herself as an artist "who likes to paint with powerful, strong colours. I don't see the world through dark tinted sunglasses. I would rather exaggerate a colour than to imitate greyed muted colour and use the colour that works." Olga began to draw and paint when she was a child. Through her university, career, and family life she has continued to be interested in art.

"When I picked up my brushes for real, after moving to Sydney from Russia, I felt like I never ceased to paint. But it took a few years, many workshops and classes with the best Australian artists to realise that it's time to step aside to find my own style."

An aspiration to paint flowers and birds came from her love of nature and its beauty. "I am especially captivated by colourful Australian birds, flowering trees and plants. Olga's Australiana series is a big part of her portfolio. "Cockatoos, lorikeets and other birds who live on my backyard are basically my visiting pets and part of the family. "

"We are surrounded with neutral white, grey and cement colours of the interiors. A painting is a window into another world. If you hang a bright painting on the wall, I can guarantee you will start your day on a more cheerful and energetic note. I fill nearly realistic shapes with emotions of bright pure colours. I don't mind using elements of many styles and bending some rules to add an interest and a contemporary twist to a painting to create something new and original. While enjoying acrylics and drawing, she usually works from her home studio in Sydney and exhibits at the city's art shows and galleries. Her paintings can be found adorning the walls of clients in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Singapore, Japan, Russia, England and USA.