Inspiration is a mysterious force that drives an artist, makes him or her create and create. It can come from a variety of sources: from nature, from music, from books, from communication with people. For Hanna Zakharchenko, inspiration is life itself, with all its joys and sorrows, ups and downs. In this article, we will try to understand what exactly inspires Hanna to create her amazing works
Hanna, please tell us how your career in art began? Who or what inspired you to become an artist?
Art and deep reflection have been in my life since early childhood. My heart sank from contemplating the colours, processes and magic that happened with the blank space of paper.
I started my professional career as an artist while studying at university. I participated in exhibitions, contests, and Land Art projects. I can’t imagine myself and my life without art.
Being an artist is a special skill that I am still learning to this day. It is a constant polishing of skills, constant experiments with materials, new opportunities to be a creator. It’s a state of mind, but to be able to manifest it is a constant practice and research.
Did you study painting? How did it influence your style?
Yes, I have an art degree: 4 years at the Bortnyansky Sumy Higher School of Arts and Culture and 5 years at the Makarenko Sumy State Pedagogical University, Faculty of Arts. Yes, I was taught techniques and how to improve my skills, but this is neither the beginning nor the end of my education. I am constantly learning something, taking courses and masterclasses.
The world is changing, other materials appear, we have to be relevant and always learn new things, time changes – topics change.
How did you come to combine abstraction and realism?
I have worked with different styles for many years and realised that realism is not enough for me to express everything I want. Abstraction, in turn, is too vague to stop the viewer from thinking. I need everything at once. I want to bring more awareness, more creativity and reflection to the world: are we really doing everything we can to make our Earth thrive? Who are we?
These are the main topics I’m thinking about now. My paintings are five-dimensional images that combine reality and the world of boundless imagination, inventions, a space where everything is possible: the past, the present, the unvoiced and unmanifested, feelings, emotions, the invisible world.
This space has many advantages in terms of figurative language, but it is intangible – we cannot feel it by touch or through other physical interactions. It is art that makes it visually accessible to the masses. It is different – it is abstraction, but it also contains concrete, dynamic images of our world.
People and nature are like a dream, but you are awake and can interact, change stories and pictures. This is a different, intelligent reality, in which images depend on the degree of ‘purification’ of our consciousness. On the fears we have acquired and inherited. Working with them, we can open the ‘window’ through which we look.
Your works explore self-knowledge and the subconscious. What is the main message you want to convey to the viewer?
My main message is to invite the audience to reflect: who are we? And are we doing enough for the prosperity of our planet? It’s not about ‘saving the world’, it’s about what each of us can do here and now. In my opinion, it is the awareness of who we are that is the key to global change.
What is your creative process like? Do you have any special rituals or techniques that help you get into a state of flow?
I am often asked: how did it come to you, is it imagination or fantasy? I will say this: it is a part of me – to see images in space and depict them on canvas. It’s a kind of cosmic book that I read, turning the pages. I just contemplate the images, they come to life, move, reveal their meaning. My paintings are not a fantasy, because I do not modify what I see. I close my eyes and see. Yes, I can meditate, but it’s not necessary, it’s often like a dream.
What inspired you to write the book ‘Intuitive Art. Boundless Inspiration?
Ordinary people, children come to my workshops, and I often hear the words: ‘I don’t know what to draw…’. My book and the desire to share my working method grew out of these requests. The book consists of two parts: theoretical and practical. In the theoretical part, I explore what intuition is and how we have used it for centuries.
I wanted to substantiate and prove to the reader that the fact that we have intuition is a great gift, using which we can be the greatest creatures on the planet. The frequent debate about who is better: humans or artificial intelligence, all fall away. This is the first book, and I am currently working on a sequel, which will be a practical course on composition, drawing and painting in intuitive art. When working with abstraction, there is a prejudice that classical academic knowledge is not required, but this is a global mistake of amateurs. Also, when depicting real objects, beginners can often make mistakes.
These books will help you understand the basics of drawing and combine it with intuitive art for those who like to go beyond being a copycat of the reality around them and go further into their own abilities.
I see a lot of talented artists who don’t understand what opportunities academic knowledge opens up for them.
What international exhibitions and projects have you participated in and which ones are particularly memorable?
I have participated in many national and international exhibitions in Ukraine and Canada, and had a personal exhibition in Italy. My works are in the collections of museums and galleries in Sumy region, as well as private collections in Ukraine, Italy, Poland and Canada.
My last competition was participation in the Golden Time Talent Grand Final, before that it was the 59th season of the competition.
What new projects or exhibitions do you have planned?
We plan to continue working: book exhibitions and competitions.
Do you have a favourite work that is particularly important to you? Why?
Among my favourite works I would like to mention three: ‘Seven Keys’, ‘Search’ and one of my latest works ‘Anomaly’.
All these works are like lighthouses that show me the way. They have the most feedback from viewers, they broadcast my true desires and thoughts.
My fascinating journey into the world of intuitive art began with Seven Keys. I painted it while I was still studying, and in it I conveyed my inner feelings much more accurately.
This was the impetus for new paintings, such as ‘Search’, which I made using the levkas technique, which added more expressiveness and meaning to the image. The painting depicts a person surrounded by Trypillian vessels, who explores or plunges into history to find the truth.
My latest work ‘Anomaly’ is my mature work in an intuitive direction, where I used a mixed media technique of combining paper and acrylic on canvas. This work highlights the problems of the modern world, in which we increasingly hear the definition of ‘anomaly’. It’s not just about climate, it’s about health, it’s about children’s development, it’s about resources and abnormal shortages. But if we close our eyes to everything, we will not find a way. We need to face our fears and problems in the face for further evolution and prosperity.
This picture is not about moaning, this picture is about accepting the situation and continuing on the path of prosperity.
How does the public perceive your art? What feedback do you particularly remember? Have you faced any criticism?
Yes, of course, I have faced criticism. It is an integral part of every artist’s journey. When we receive dissatisfaction or criticism, it’s not a reason to withdraw inside, it’s a reason to develop further. It means you are on the right track. If people are touched by it, this is your topic, this is your path, because we most often receive criticism when we touch on a person’s inner pain.
If you are an artist like me, who wants to not just paint beauty for the sake of beauty, copy for the sake of copying, but also work to ensure that your art gives some kind of impetus to the further development of a person, you have to accept this criticism, draw your own conclusions and work on. This is the right way to go. Of course, it is more pleasant to receive good reviews, and there are many of them, but if you receive only good reviews, then you need to think about it. It means that your work may be too ‘sweet’, it may be ‘salon’, which is another story about other artists. I would like to give advice to those artists who are affected by criticism, and perhaps to beginners. You should always pay attention to who is giving you critical feedback. Is this person a professional? If so, you should listen to them and draw your own conclusions. If the person is from a completely different field, then you shouldn’t pay too much attention to it and take it to heart, because you have to grow as a professional, and that’s the main thing – and listen to professional people, professional juries, professional artists, people who have experience in this business.
The best feedback is the acceptance of your works in exhibitions, victories in competitions, professional awards when your works are included in collections.
How do you see the evolution of your work in the future? What are your dreams as an artist?
My future path is quite ambitious. I’m preparing a new series of works, it will be more monumental, united by the theme of searching for truths, but not ready-made answers. I also have plans to return to the levkas. ‘My dream as an artist is to involve as many people as possible in creativity. Art awakens light energies in people – this is what the world needs now. Art also has the ability to treat mental health, which is also very important. I am amazed at how few paintings can be seen in the homes of the general public. Art needs to be further popularised and made more accessible to everyone. Modern technology opens up many opportunities for this.
Hanna Zakharchenko is an artist whose work inspires and impresses. Her works are not just images, they are messages full of deep meaning and emotions. She invites viewers to reflect on themselves, on the world, and on the place of man in it. Her art is not only beauty, but also a power that can change consciousness and awaken light energies in people.
