An exhibition of underwater painting by Peter Dotsenko will be presented in Sevastopol

On the eve of the opening day, Sevastopolskaya Gazeta met with the artist, who, thanks to his passion for diving, went beyond traditional art and began creating landscapes under water.

My childhood was spent playing on the shore: sandy beaches and sea surf became a launching pad for creativity. After graduating from school, I continued my education at the Crimean Humanitarian University at the Faculty of Aesthetic Education of the Department of Fine Arts and Design, where I received fundamental knowledge and skills in the field of fine arts… The brightness of colors, the variety of forms of the underwater world, which I saw once during a trip to Egypt, forever won my heart. From that moment on, diving entered my life, as did the desire to capture the underwater world on canvas.— the artist told about himself.

How underwater masterpieces are created

Modern artists and our hero, including for underwater drawing, use techniques and techniques introduced into practice many years ago by the French chemist, diver, and artist Andre Laban, a member of the team of the legendary explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Mostly underwater paintings are done with a palette knife. The paints are mixed on a palette with an artist’s trowel, and then applied to the canvas in a thick relief layer.

I use vegetable oil based oil paints. Canvases and stretchers are ordinary, but with some nuances. A synthetic primer and special oil treatment are necessary so that the paint does not come off under water, but lays down obediently and softly,” explained P. Dotsenko.

After an underwater session, canvases and other equipment must be desalinated — dipped into a container of fresh water. To better preserve the paint layer, the finished painting on land is treated with artistic varnishes.

Basically, our interlocutor draws at depths of no more than 10 meters.

I painted most of the underwater paintings presented at the exhibition in Sudak. In the Kapsel Bay of the Tavrida art cluster, the guys are creating an underwater art park, where sculptures are placed under water. There are also shallow depths and good transparency, which means color rendition. Very interesting bottom topography: picturesque canyons, hollows, algae and marine life— said P. Dotsenko.

According to him, the main difficulty of underwater drawing is that you have to work in conditions that are not suitable for people’s lives. You need to write quickly, before the air in the scuba tank runs out; no more than an hour is allotted for the entire creative process in one dive.

He mounts the canvas on a stretcher on a photographic tripod, weighing down each leg with kilograms of lead.

The paintings painted underwater are quite avant-garde — large, broad strokes literally repeat the shape of underwater reefs and submerged objects. The artist tries to convey as accurately as possible the mood, emotion and color of an underwater moment pierced by sunlight. This, according to P. Dotsenko, is where skill lies.

Eternal experiment

The human eye is different from technology. People see more shades, but the artist’s eye enriches nature with internal perception and imagination.

Depth is a very hard filter for the eyes. People underwater seem to see everything through a blue filter. While photographic equipment can be specially configured for underwater work, the human eye cannot.“, notes the painter.

According to him, the perception of color under water is completely different. For example, at a depth of five to six meters, red turns brown, but true brown does not change, which creates additional difficulty in determining colors on the palette and on the canvas.

You always need to keep in mind what color was originally used and in what place, adds the artist. Therefore, some authors complete their paintings already on the shore.

P. Dotsenko is in constant development. He experiments a lot with the compositions of primers and paints, the creation of technological structures that make the creative process more convenient, he trains to write at sunset and at dusk, at night with and without a lantern, so that it is like being under water.

In the dark you write as if by touch, the shades disappear, only the colors remain. The darkness consumes everything. Very effective workoutsnotes the artist.

Plein airs and a museum named after yourself

Of course, our interlocutor writes not only under water, but also on land. These works are distinguished by greater attention to detail, composition, and careful treatment of texture.

I actually love plein air painting. I paint mainly landscapes of the middle zone, Crimea. I often visit Sevastopol. I love this beautiful city, — emphasizes P. Dotsenko, and when asked about creative plans, he surprises with the answer, it turns out that he wants to create an underwater museum in his name with a large sea bell at the bottom. — I am sure that what I do is right, because I try to do good.

First personal

The first personal exhibition of underwater painting by P. Dotsenko “Depth” will open on June 10 at 18.00 in the Tolstoy Central Library on Lenin Street, 51. About 30 works will be presented, including a polyptych of six paintings, united by a single composition “The Life of the Sea” .

According to the author, underwater painting is a challenge to stereotypes and prejudices, an opportunity to enjoy the moments of peace and tranquility that the underwater space gives us.

source: «Sevastopol newspaper»