Olena Babak is an award-winning, classically trained artist whose landscapes and figurative works can be found in numerous galleries and collections across the U.S. and abroad. She was recently featured and interviewed by Plein Air Magazine (June-July 2019) about her process, her training, and the iconic influences on her. She soberly describes her journey and her goals as an artist, namely “to be in love—with the moment, with the scene, with the paint.”
Olena was the recipient of the Hudson River Fellowship (NY) and her works appear in numerous publications including two versions of the “Strokes of Genius” series, the “Poets and Artists: 100 Great Drawings,” and the “Classicist.” She formerly taught graduate students at the Academy of Classical Design. Some of her selected awards from 2016 include: Best Representation of Rockies National Park; Artist’s Choice, Plein Air Richmond; First Place, Quick Draw & People’s Choice Award, Finger Lakes Plein Air; Honorable Mention, Art Renewal Center Salon; First Place, Maine Art Show; and many others.
Camden Falls Gallery congratulates Olena on having 3 paintings accepted into THE 14TH INTERNATIONAL ARC SALON COMPETITION. They received 4,300 entries from 73 countries, and only about 35% of the entrees have made it into the finals. All 3 paintings submitted by Olena are finalist works!
Trained as a talented figurative portraitist, Olena developed a passion for recording Maine’s landscapes. Maine’s natural beauty feeds her soul, as she continues to transform “ordinary” land and seascapes into breathtaking beauty, filled with light, color, and passion.
In the vein of the traditional Hudson River School style, her work evokes the light of a by-passed-era, recalling the passion of the Romantic Period. Everyday scenes take on a life of their own through her lively brushwork as seen in, “Morning in Bernard”. The landscape, “Breath of the Ocean” evokes a bright, new dawn on the horizon, as Olena pursues her desire to capture and chase after this metaphorical vision of the hope for a new day. For Olena, “Sunrise is something very spiritual to me, as are sunsets. There are constant changes, slight differences in colors and light, and that resonates in life for me.”
”OLENA BABAK, THE PREPONDERANCE OF LIGHT” will show from July 12th to the 26th at CAMDEN FALLS GALLERY. The gallery is located at 5 Public Landing in Camden, ME.
Camden Falls Gallery is open daily from 10am to 7pm in the season.
For more information, please contact us at 207-470-7027 or camdenfallsgallery@gmail.com. Camden Falls Gallery website is www.camdenfallsgallery.com
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