Author: Tina Kaplár
Published on: 23.02.2016
Vita Opolskyte was the Second Prize Winner at the Young Painter Prize Award in Vilnius. Vita studies for her MA at the Vilnius Academy of Arts and the paintitngs she submitted for the competition are from the series „The House of Vita Opolskytė“ as a consequence of unsettled state of mind and inability to adapt to the reality, she was building her home in this collection. Based on Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland reveals a parallel universe in as she stated in her competition entry. We invited her for a small talk after the Award Ceremony.
TK: When was the first time you thought about becoming an artist?
VO: There was one specific event when the possibility of being an artist occurred to me. When I was little, I found my father’s old paintings and art supplies in the garage. I was surprised, because I never knew that he used to paint. Affected by this event I became interested in art, especially painting. So, I think, that was the beginning.
TK: Do you have a painting routine?
VO: I am trying to create one. I like to work early in the mornings. So, I get up, go to the studio, draw some sketches and start to paint. When sun goes down – I know it‘s time to finish (I don‘t like artificial lighting). But, however, life has its own way and sometimes it is unpredictable 🙂
TK: Where and when do you work best?
VO: Early morning in my studio is the best union, I think. But sometimes I need some kind of ‚fresh air‘ – to have some influence, or inspiration. Then I start looking for other places, where I can paint.
TK: What music helps you to work?
VO: Silence.
TK: How do you relax?
VO: Perhaps, when the painting is finished… But it last until I start to paint another work.
TK: What is your current favourite material/colour etc?
VO: Currently, I am obsessed with Damar Varnish, and Indigo Pigment.
TK: Who are your artistic influences?
VO: Places. Memories. People.
TK: What does it mean to be an artist?
VO: It means to believe in some kind of magic 🙂
TK: How would you earn your living if you had to give up being an artist?
VO: I don‘t even want to think about it.
TK: What art works would you show your own children to introduce them to art?
VO: Of course – mine‘s 🙂
TK: Who is your perfect receptor/audience?
VO: Everyone, I guess. I am trying to make multilayering paintings, in which every person could find something familiar, something suggests to create own narrative and to be participant in it. Therefore, I think perfect audience would be open-minded receptor.
TK: What is the last remarkable thing you saw?
VO: A sign that spring is coming.