‘Blooming Explosion’

‘Blooming Explosion’, 2024

Oleksandra Malyshko

Oil, Oil Pastel on Canvas –  23.6″ x 31.5″

I painted this piece in 2024, fueled by a deep longing for spring. Every winter, my creative world shifts from the breezy open-air fields into the warmth of my home. This indoor season is my time for soul-searching and experimentation—a chance to finally breathe life into ideas I’ve been keeping in my heart.

This work is my experiment with peonies. I blended oil pastels into the painting to give it a graphic edge and make the silhouettes truly pop. These are the tender blooms of spring awakening amidst the winter of my soul, which is why they glow against such a cold, frosty backdrop.

And what begins to bloom in your soul during the long winter months?

Exhibition History: This painting was showcased in the solo exhibition ‘The Flame,’ which took place at the Dmytro Yavornytsky National Historical Museum of Dnipro, Ukraine (2024–2025).

Oleksandra Malyshko is a Ukrainian landscape impressionist artist from Dnipro. Her path started in architecture, which gave her a sense of structure and rhythm. But today, when she paints, her main goal is simply to catch a fleeting moment of life, its movement, and its flow.

Living in Ukraine today, Oleksandra chooses not to paint literal images of explosions or war. Instead, she processes the reality around her through her intense use of red and fiery tones. This vibrant color and movement are her personal way of living through the state of war as an artist, finding life and energy amid the darkness.