Vesna – 14-03-22

Shifting Gear

Another Risque painting depicting my muse Julia Filament. Two oil paintings earlier I already did an Ukrainian theme but why not use it once again. After all, the Russian-Ukrainian war is raging on or should I say Putin’s war? Who is going to free us from his sole wet dream? Time to shift gear and so I thought only to use the basic colors blue and yellow this time. Of course they represent the colors of the Ukrainian flag. What could be more beautiful than to depict my Ukrainian model Julia Filament with these colors? See how she would look like in this particular color scheme, symbolizing her country almost like a visual eponym.

Different Hues of Blue and Yellow

Even though the initial plan was to limit myself to these two colors this certainly would not exclude varieties thereof. It’s an old trick I regularly use. I particulary like these complementary contrasts in one color such as reddish blue and greenish blue. These are Rembrandt’s Phtalo Blue Reddish and Schmincke’s YlnMn Blue (Oregon Blue) as well as Greenish Blue. The same goes for the yellow, so I used an warmer, brownish ocre and Schmincke’s yellow gold. As complementary couterparts I chose Schmincke’s Ural Gelbgrün and Old Holland’s Nickel Titanium. Consequently, by mixing blue and yellow I got great hints of green. First I thought to include some red as well, representing the Russian bear. However, that surely would cancel the strong yellow-blue flag colors everybody associates with the Ukraine. Less is more and I was thinking of a powerful image to create.

Vesna

Of late I reread some Slavic tales I knew. Strange how sudden events can take you back. I remembered tales including certain animals like the rabbit and the dog and the squirrel versus the bear. So there it was, in her breasts and in other places I discovered them lingering about. The bird in the upper right corner came late in the process of painting. It is a match to the figure drones created in Rotterdam skies the other day as an hommage. By the way, I’d like to think of Julia to be Vesna, the goddess of Spring. It all makes sense to me: Yellow and Blue together make green, which feeds us all. So here’s to the Ukraine, one of the most fertile countries in the world. They say it’s a beautiful place to be. I have to find that out one day myself.

Oil on linen (60 x 80 cm)

Artist: Corné Akkers