OLENA
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(415) 972-9778
Hi, I am Olena McMurtrey, a contemporary artist based in California and specializing in cityscapes, oceanscapes, and landscapes. I have lived in several large cities on both sides of the world and finally settled in California. I got inspired to pursue furthering my art education while living in Los Angeles and completed the Master of Fine Arts at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco.
I always try experimenting and playing with many mediums to find the exact tool to express my creativity and voice. I enjoy feeling thickness and heavy flow of oil, acrylic and resin: these mediums are so different and alike at the same time. The biggest challenge for me is to find a unique mix of colors to achieve depth and vibration in my paintings.
The bodywork of cityscapes inspired by my time living in the beehive of the Big Apple, and later in the City by the Bay during my grad school. There is something magical when the sun sets exactly along the cross streets in coastal cities, beaming sunrays into shattered reflections of a concrete jungle. For precision to bring the grid of cityscapes into a dance with light, oils are my favorite choice.
Through my passion for windsurfing and surfing, I felt compelled to paint waves, the element of fluid force that many deeply connect with. In my paintings, I thrive to bring the mood of calmness and wildness - a blend of beautiful and dangerous. To achieve the expanse intensity of ocean depth, I work with the dynamic nature of the tinted resin in many layers to control the desired design. It's fascinating to capture a slice of light in waves in a manner of a frozen segment on canvas.
