2019

2019 was about redefining my style and really discovering who I am as an artist and what subject matter drives me to make work. This year I finally discovered my signature graphic painting style. It encapsulates what I want to say very well by putting a lot of emphasis on content by reducing the aesthetics to neutral shades, bold lines, and shapes. My practice now focuses on my personal experience as a woman, as LGBTQ+, and as a mixed race person.

One Year, February 2019

My first piece of the course was call One Year. It was inspired by a life experience that many women have experienced: the moment when you unexpectedly get your period and you don't have any pads or tampons. When thinking about this issue, I thought about how society has made taking care of a period inaccessible and expensive. In my high contrast style, I highlighted this issue by illustrating this moment alongside the price of what my period cost me in 2018. This includes: tampons and pads, excess toilet paper, new underwear and shorts to replace stained ruined ones, new sheets to replaced stained ruined sheets, cleaning products, pain medication and heat pads. The purpose of this painting was to show the behind of the scenes of this issue and to minimize the negative stigma around this conversation.

The Wage Gap, February 2019

As most women know, discrimination is expected in all shapes in sizes when it comes to working in a male dominated work environment or a male dominated field. Equal representation and respect of women in male dominant work environments is not an issue that has been overcome. The discriminatory and sexist culture that many women continue to face is unacceptable.

The purpose of this piece is to remind the viewer that female discrimination in the workplace is not dead. Sexual harassment, unfair mistreatment and the staggering wage gap are several examples of discrimination that occur till this day. In this piece I wanted to highlight the gap between the treatment of males vs females in the workforce using a screen capture pulled from one of my favourite television shows which was high lighting this same issue in the scene.

When illustrating this image, I decided to abstract the forms a bit more so that it was more difficult to distinguish the number of women vs men in this scene, this choice was to make prominent how few people recognize unequal pay as a problem. This artistic choice highlights that although many are incapable of acknowledging the existence of sexism in the modern work environment, it does not mean it does not exist.

Whistling for Mrs. Winkler, March 2019

My final piece for this class was called Whistling for Mrs. Winkler; Freedom, A Journey of the Heart. Although I focused on my personal experiences with female discrimination and neglect in my first 2 works, I thought I would changed the tone with my final piece and represent a female struggle that was not my own, but instead my Oma's.

“One day I was outside and could smell the freshness of the rain as it splashed against

the cobblestones. In the gentle rain, a worm soon appeared on the pavement. I picked up a twig, and while whistling

the Aria loudly, began poking rhythmically at the slimy, little creature.

In the distance, I heard the giant Russian tanks as they rumbled through the narrow streets. Even though the war

had ended in Europe, eastern Germany remained occupied by the Russian military. As a little girl, I didn’t know that fact.

I was only aware that Russian soldiers were still stationed in Löbau. While stooping down next to the worm,

I wished I had a dad to ask the thousand questions that troubled my mind”

Whistling for Mrs. Winkler was inspired by the previous quote, taken from my oma’s memoir, Freedom: A Journey of The Heart. Growing up in communist Germany during World War II, Annemarie Timmons endured severe trauma and poverty while living with her last foster mother, Mrs. Winkler.

I was inspired by this quote and specifically this moment during my oma’s life because it highlighted several things for me. As she describes herself, Annemarie was very angry as a child, understandably so, as the conditions she face were grim for many years. But even as she describes this moment of standing guard for her foster mother, the clear memory of whistling her favourite melody and mucking around in the dirt were not overtaken in her memory by the terrible events occurring around her. She was still able to find light in the darkness.

I painted this piece to highlight the positive memory from this moment and emphasize my oma’s strength in find beauty amongst tragedy. She fought all her life for what she wanted and for freedom, and because of it endured great struggle, but never let it break her. What I envy most about her now, is her ability to ride life along the silver lining. Just as she did her.

Learn more about my oma’s story in her memoir Freedom – A Journey of the Heart: The life story of resilience, forgiveness and hope from the Minstrel of Kansas City, now available on Amazon.com

Kalyna Olynufrk, March 2019

Her Influence, April 2019

Starting in 2018 in my final year of university. I began my Visual Studies Undergraduate Thesis class. The purpose of this fourth year course was to create one final piece that represented you as an artist and exemplified your best medium and style. For me that became painting. During that year, I not only discovered more about myself and who I want to be, but I also discovered my signature painting style.

My graphic painting style is inspired by an amalgamation of two prominent painting eras; the bold nature of 1960s pop art and specifically Andy Warhol's work, as well as the chiaroscuro and intimate painterly stroke of the 17th century Baroque paintings of Rembrandt. The influence of artists like Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Caravaggio, and Rembrandt have helped me develop my painting style into what it is today.

Her Influence is a series of 22 female figures who have inspired me in one way or another over the course of my life. Each woman and her story have left a significant impact on me, allowing me to better understand myself, feel more confident, or feel more pride in my beliefs, priorities, and values.

I decided to paint these women at this scale to create an intimate experience for the viewer, mimicking what it would be like to meet these women in real life. It was important that the figures appeared realistic in scale and rendering so that this could be achieved. It was also important to me to depict them at the age that I knew them when I was first inspired by them. This is most prevalent with figures such as Audrey Hepburn and Jane Fonda, whose careers spanned many years of their life.

The women included in this series are: Anne Frank, Ashley Graham, Audrey Hepburn, Chrissy Teigen, Diane von Furstenberg, Ellen DeGeneres, Helen Keller, Jane Fonda, Janelle Monáe, Jazz Jennings, Jennifer Hudson, Julianne Hough, Katherine Johnson, Lady Gaga, Laverne Cox, Lili Ilse Elvenes, Meryl Streep, Michelle Obama, Sacagawea, Shawn Johnson, Tyra Banks, and Yayoi Kusama.

Hacienda Las Americas Mural, August 2019

Bronte & Brayden, August 2019

Joe, Bean & Belle, September 2019

A Rediscovery of Food, October 2019

A Rediscovery of Food is a piece that represents my journey of cooking as a picky eater. All of my life, I have been stubborn and selective of what kind of food I liked and what I was willing to try. As a child I always struggled with my diet and many people around me gave me a hard time about it. My mother at a young age labeled me as particular and it caused me to retreat even more into my shell in regard to food.

After moving to Toronto, I began discovering my own relationship with risk and choice, and I became intrigued by food and cooking. After a few years of teaching myself to cook, I found that many of the reasons why I didn’t like food was because of the way it was prepared. I now realize that the shock of new textures or flavour profiles was less about me disliking it and more about it be unfamiliar. I have come to realize that it is not fair to reject something based on the first encounter.

One food that I have always struggled with and was always pressured into trying, was bananas. I paint this symbol to attempt to reclaim it and wash away its association with the negative relationship I had with food as a child. I have chosen to use a Keith Haring inspired patterning to show how much of this journey was and is affected by who I surround myself by.

I choose to paint live to show that this process will always be an ongoing journey for me, and maybe one day I’ll get to a place where bananas and many other things, are no longer in the dislike category.

This photoshoot was a collaboration with my friend and fellow artist Liam McGivney