Oleh Lavrii Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Oleh Lavrii: I try not to give free rein to fantasy, as fantasy images scatter attention and can lead to passive imagination, this is not what an artist needs to work with. In my case, it is better to keep the main theme in mind and develop the idea in the process of work until the moment when I feel a surge of hormones of joy from the result. I think that at this moment inspiration gains its volume and helps to complete the work with the best result. The tones of your works— be they intense and bright as in the works fromPetrichorand Yellow field, be they marked out with such thoughtful, almost meditative ambiance, as in Invasionand inMelancholy — create delicate tension and dynamics: how does your own psychological make-updetermine the nuances of tones that you decide to include in your works? Oleh Lavrii: I like to work with sky and sea colors, they blend well with black and gray. These colors bring a sense of stability, nobility and contemplation to my life. Very rarely, according to my mood, I write a work only in gray shades, for example, the work of Melancholia. And such works as Petrichor and Yellow field, I think this is the perception of everyday simple joys. Although we can live in interiors with white and gray walls, sometimes you want to go to a restaurant with a bright interior and get a boost of vivacity. When I paint pictures in yellow, I do not give in to reflection, but I try to quickly finish the work and return to the usual slow analysis of images. You are a versatile artist and your artworks — as City lights, Clouds over the beach and Catharsis —encompasses both abstract and figurative feelings. Still, each of them