Our Artists
Discover our creative UCA - UK members
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Olga Brown
Artist, Painter
Our UCA - UK member, Olga Brown was born in Ukraine and received a MA in art and textiles from the Academy of Fine Art, Lviv, Ukraine in 1982. Since 1997 she has worked and lived in London, winning many awards and obtained many accolades including:
the Chelsea Art Society Agnes Reeve Award (2009) for the best painting of London
First prize for the best figurative painting in Hesketh Hubbart Art Society, Mall Gallery (2012).
Great Art Award at The Society of Women Artists in Mall Galleries (2016).
Olga exhibits extensively at galleries in the UK and abroad, including prestigious galleries such as The Mall Galleries, Cork Street Gallery and the Royal College of Art.
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Olga's landscape paintings are impressionistic and colourful, her cityscapes embracing all the noise and chaos of modern life. Using London's ubiquitous and iconic transportation, Olga adds flashes of black and red to her scenes, which are always full of people and never content to depict architecture alone. Using thick brushstrokes and rich colour manipulation, her paintings of London capture the vivacity of Britain's capital city in all its guises.
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Her recent figurative work introduces a new theme in her art, exploring ideas of escapism through elegance and movement. Inspired by both the Old Masters and modern photography, her enigmatic subjects are immersed in the contemplative world of their dreams and desires, caught as if in a snapshot, in a single atmospheric moment.
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Olga is also the creator of our beautiful UCA - UK logo. We are so grateful for this hand painted piece, and love its authentic and real artistry.
Olha Baklan
Artist, Set Designer and Illustrator
Our UCA - UK member, Olha Baklan was born in Ukraine and received a Masters Degree in art and costumes from the Academy of Fine Art, Lviv, Ukraine in 1988. She gained prominence by working as a theatre designer in Lviv Les Kurbus Theatre for about 20 years.
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Olha has been living in the UK since 2016, and has grown in talent and stature with her portraits, landscapes and exceptional watercolours. She draws inspiration from her garden; quietly observing flowers and all the creatures that visit from time to time. She loves going on hikes, discovering new landscapes with interesting colours and lighting.
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"... Watercolour is the language of my feelings, thoughts, foretaste and signs. Wherever I am, I look for a connection of stories that have not yet happened or have happened in the past. These signs, symbols, traces are as pervasive as the water that carries the pigment to the appropriate place on paper. The purpose of my experiments is to show the magical nature of this technique. It is important for me not to lose the whiteness and freshness of the paper, thus leaving room for unproven future signs..."
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Olha exhibits extensively at galleries in the UK and abroad, including prestigious galleries such as:
2018 - The Chelsea Art Society 71st Annual Open Exhibition, London
2019 - Holland Park Art Exhibition, London
2019 - The Chelsea Art Society 72nd Annual Open Exhibition, London
2020 - The Society of East Anglian Watercolourists Selected Exhibition
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During the 2020 pandemic, Olha was invited to participate in the wonderful project #portraitsfornhsheroes in the UK. She was commissioned to paint four portraits of key workers who were instrumental at battling through the COVID-19 crisis. Olha’s portraits were shown on the screens at Flannels flagship store on Oxford Street, London for project #makeitblue in support of the NHS.
