(feature story)

We are people, and people can’t live without art. Art is sky. Art is grass. Art is a glass of water under sunbeams. Our emotions are the art, too. Art is everything around and inside us. There are a lot of talented Ukrainian artists like Ivan Sulyma, Natalka Haida, Vladyslav Yerko, and Yevheniia Hapchynska. They are well-known as book illustrators, who work in famous Ukrainian publishing houses like ‘The Old Lion Publishing House,’ ‘Ababahalamaha,’ and ‘Urbino Publishing.’ But we aren’t limited to them. Many modern illustrators are also creating amazing content for social media, online media, websites, and publishing houses, too. But not everyone knows their names because just a little number of people admit the short byline at the end of the book or in the website’s footer.

The art of illustration, like all other cultural areas, has trends that are changing with time floating. Despite the fact that all artists have their own style of drawing, some characteristics of the works are similar. Modern illustrations are created mostly by technical means like a graphical tablet or professional programs on the laptop. The style of illustrations is unbound, free, tangled, and a little blurred. Many illustrations remind a comic or sketch drawing. The lines of objects are unstable or stylized according to the theme of the project. These drawings have a lot of “air” allowing to feel free and to make own sense of the image.

Mari Kinovych (inst: marikinoo) ― an illustrator, based in Kyiv. She specializes in text illustrations and images of people in actions. The most common colors are yellow and black, blue and red. She works with publishing houses ‘Laboratoria,’ ‘Comora Books,’ ‘Book Chef’ and creates illustrtions for MacDonald’s and clothes brands.

Mariana Mikitiuk (inst: mariana.mikitiuk) ― an illustrator from Kyiv. The main theme of her works is nature. She images different plants and animals, birds and butterflies, water and the sun. The human is always synthesized with nature. A lot of illustrations are in nude colors, but there are also black-and-white or none colored pictures. Mariana collaborates mostly with online media ‘Ukrainer’ and ‘Crocus Publishers.’

Tetiana Kaliuzhna (inst: tetianaklzh) ― a Ukrainian illustrator, currently based in Kerns, Switzerland. Tetiana draws cartoon-stylized illustrations that create a relaxed and informal tone of books. These images are perfect for kids’ books. The most often used colors are vivid like yellow, green, pink, and red. She works with ‘Discursus Publishing’ and ‘My Bookshelf Publishing.’

So, the sphere of Ukrainian art doesn’t stand still, it is constantly developing and digitalizing. Modern Ukrainian artists produce amazing projects and present them on the international stage that shows ― we are brave, strong, and undoubtedly talented people!