Iryna Yermolova

Figurative painter Iryna Yermolova explores the notion of feminine beauty with an exuberantly vibrant palette and a confident use of line. She paints with a bold yet sensitive touch, a sense of urgency and an intriguing play of grounds setting her work apart. Her striking use of color is often complimented by dramatic lighting, leaving one with the sense that she has carved her image from the canvas rather than painted it, with wipes, scrapes and scratches clearly evident in her mark-making.

”I moved to the UK is 2005. My background is in graphic design (Art college in Ukraine) and economics (University of Economics, Ukraine), but it was my move to England and certain personal circumstances that inspired me to start painting full time.

I love to paint people. However, my inspiration isn’t a person but the movement, light, composition, or pattern. I like when light disappears and appears when it is not expected. This effect often breaks the anatomical and academic rules, but it can create dramatic effects and help the composition. When I start on a new canvas, I see the composition, main objects, light, and shadow, and only then do I add some details.

I love “breathing,” living canvases. And I have to say that I quite often cannot explain how I’ve created the painting. My paint flows, and my fingers (I prefer fingers and a palette knife to brushes) do the work for me.”