Oksana is a student here at Baruch College majoring in Marketing. However, in her free time she is a freelance painter. She has had her paintings displayed in art galleries around SoHo and has sold quite a few on EBay as well. Next year, she will present her first collection of paintings and have them on display for a few weeks in SoHo. Oksana emigrated here from Ukraine so many of her influences in painting are the sceneries she remembers from back home.

 

Hi Oksana, thanks for meeting with me. I know you have a lot of things going on between finishing your paintings and finishing your final two semesters here at Baruch.

No problem, I love to talk about my work and I’m very excited that you want to hear about it.

So when did you first start painting?

I didn’t. Well, technically I was supposed to be a cartoonist. At least that’s what I started doing. Maybe I should start from the beginning. Okay, so growing up, I didn’t have much training in the arts. I went to a regular elementary school in Ukraine and finished the National Economic University in Ternopil. My parents wanted me to be an accountant because that was a stable job. I saw an ad in our local paper that called for a cartoonist and I thought it could be fun. I sent in a few samples and they loved it. I worked there part time for two years and then quit my job at a local bank to work full time there and to take a course in animation. That was cut short because my dad died and my mother decided it would be better if I went with her to the States. Here I knew I wouldn’t get much luck as an animator so I went back to my roots and decided to study marketing at Baruch. I really missed drawing, but I never had anytime.

So then how did you start painting?

For my birthday my mom mistakenly bought a painting set instead of an animation set. She must have ordered the wrong one on Amazon. She didn’t tell me about it because she wanted me to start expressing myself the way I used to. She thought I was getting homesick. When the set came and I started taking out paintbrushes and different paints and stuff, she was so confused. She said, “That’s not what I ordered. They must have screwed up.” But I was so excited to have a part a creative outlet that I didn’t really care. I started painting that first night and found that it was even easier for me to come up with ideas than for animation.

What was that first painting of?

It was actually a self-portrait that I tore up a few weeks later because I was too self-conscious. Instead, I decided to paint whatever I was feeling. It was a great outlet, especially when I was angry. The reds and oranges on a white background just made my anger look prettier, you know?

Are your feelings still the first thing you paint today?

            No, and most of my paintings for my upcoming exhibits are much different than those I started with. I haven’t been back to Ukraine for about 4 years now and there are a lot of things I miss. I mean, you’re from Ukraine too so I don’t have to tell you about the beautiful landscape and nature that you can stumble upon. I missed not seeing them that often so I decided to paint it from memory. When I finished that first wheat field, I was starting to feel like I was really there.

I saw that one in the gallery. It looks so real! I love paintings, but find it hard to get the color combination right when I paint. What is the hardest part for you?

            (laughs) Believe it or not, for the longest time, I didn’t think I was good enough. I still don’t, but the reviews and critique of friends, buyers, and visitors of my exhibits have been very encouraging. It seems they like what they see and I like impressing them with my work.

You mentioned your exhibits, how many paintings will you have on display for your first collection?

            The art gallery that I will be working with wanted me to pick 20 of my favorite paintings. So far I have 12 so I need to get moving (smiles) But I also want to add more to the collection so I’m still rearranging the order since I am also still painting and creating new pieces.

How does it feel like to be displaying your collection for the first time?

            Like a dream. And I know people say that all the time at the Oscars, Golden Globes, any background story of any famous celebrity, and I used to think it was so cliché, but it’s the perfect way to describe it. I know I’m not going to be famous anytime soon. Nobody will know my name like they do Angelina Jolie’s, but it feels so great to be recognized. And who knows, maybe in the future, I will catch my big break and every household will have an Izbyansky original, but for now, I am just thankful for what I have and for the support I have.

Who would you like to thank most of all?

            My mom. This is also cliché, but I mean, the woman gave birth to me. She is one of the strongest people I know. Not many people would be okay with starting her whole life over like she did. Especially at 45 when she was used to being a housewife and became a housewife without a husband. She went back to school just like I did and worked night and day. And she still managed to be there when I needed her most. She is truly an amazing woman.

She sure sounds like an amazing woman. And you are certainly following in her footsteps in that sense. Well, thank you for taking the time to meet with me and tell me your story!