Artist: Oleksiy Ivanyuk
Work: Original oil painting, handmade artwork, one of a kind
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Year: 2025
Style: Post Impressionism
Title: The sun is setting
Size: 6" x 8" x 0.8'' inch, (15x20 x2 cm)
Unframed, Stretched on Wooden Bar, Ready to Hang
The Oil painting Canvas titled “The sun is setting” captures the fleeting yet magnificent moment when day dissolves into evening, and the entire landscape is bathed in the fiery glow of the descending sun. The canvas immediately draws the eye to the central tree, which bursts into life with rich hues of orange, red, and golden yellow, its branches illuminated as though ignited by the last rays of light. The use of impasto creates thick, textured strokes that give the foliage and trunk a palpable energy, allowing the viewer to almost feel the heat and vibrancy emanating from the heart of the composition. Behind the glowing tree, subtle shapes of rustic houses emerge in deeper tones of brown, purple, and blue, partially hidden by the blaze of color that dominates the foreground. These structures appear quiet, subdued, and almost contemplative, as if yielding to the overwhelming grandeur of nature at this sacred hour of day. Their stillness balances the dynamism of the tree, anchoring the scene in the everyday rhythms of rural life, while reminding us of humanity’s humble place within the vast, ever-changing cycles of the natural world. The ground is alive with a kaleidoscope of shades—lime green, golden yellow, and crimson intermingle with cooler tones of cobalt, ultramarine, and violet. This vibrant mixture suggests a landscape still infused with vitality even as the light softens and shadows lengthen. The artist’s palette knife technique enhances the raw, almost sculptural quality of the land, where each stroke conveys movement and depth. The surface seems to shift and shimmer, much like the land itself when drenched in the radiant glow of sunset. Above the scene, fragments of deep greens and purples blend with flickers of orange, hinting at the fading sky beyond the tree canopy. The absence of a wide expanse of sky is significant—it shifts the focus downward, onto the earth and the elements directly touched by the sun’s departing light. This choice emphasizes intimacy over vastness, grounding the viewer in the moment and reminding them that even in ordinary landscapes, extraordinary beauty emerges when illuminated by the right light.
Born on March 13, 1954, in Pyryatyn, Poltava Region, Ukraine, the artist graduated from the N. Samokish Art College. Specializing in landscapes and still lifes, his paintings are celebrated for their warmth, emotional depth, and strong connection to Ukrainian cultural traditions.
A Member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine since 2008, he taught fine arts for over 20 years while actively exhibiting his work in numerous national and international exhibitions, including solo shows in Kyiv, Warsaw, California (USA), and throughout Ukraine.
His works are held in several museum collections, including the National Museum of Art of Ukraine, the Taras Shevchenko National Museum, the Museum of Cultural Heritage in Kyiv, and the Poltava Museum of Local Lore.
LotN2-01