Samples of Petrykivka painting. Educational and methodological manual. Petrikovskaya painting. Element “Curved grain”
First, a few words about Petrikov painting.
Decorative painting has become a bright page in the cultural history of the Ukrainian people. Far beyond the borders of Ukraine, famous names of folk craftsmen from the village of Petrikovka, Dnepropetrovsk region.
An openwork, graphically clear ornament, which in the past developed as wall painting and decoration of household items, is today widely used in the art industry, book graphics, decoration, etc... The magical Petrykivka flower bloomed on a wonderful porcelain dish, laying in a mysterious pattern on silk fabric , a valuable gem sparkled on the lacquered surface of the souvenir box.
Petrykivka’s unique ornament had long-standing traditions, its own plastic language, technique and its own arsenal of artistic images. From generation to generation, the traditions of painting and original, mainly floral ornaments were passed on, which were subsequently increasingly improved. Household items with Petrykivka painting, which are in museums, date back to the 18th-19th centuries. The ornament itself originates from ancient traditional ornaments, which were widely used in the life of the Cossacks, decorating their homes, equipment and weapons.
Modern Petrykivka ornament is characterized primarily as floral, predominantly floral. It is based on a careful study of the real forms of local flora and the creation on this basis of fantastic flowers that do not exist in nature (for example, “onion” or “curly”). Motifs of garden (dahlias, astri, roses) and meadow (romaine, cornflower) flowers and viburnum berries, strawberries and grapes are widely used. Also characteristic are the images of foliage, which is called “fern,” buds and feathery lacy foliage. Petrikov's ornamentalists are characterized by an extremely precise eye and amazing dexterity of hand - all masters draw without a pre-planned outline, without using a single measuring instrument. Virtuosity of execution is achieved by writing using a thin brush made of cat hair. In addition to brushes, Petrikov craftsmen use stems, wood chips, and paint berries and some flowers simply with their fingers.
... Petrikov painting originated on the whitewashed wall of a Ukrainian mud hut. The technology for making the paint was simple and at the same time unique - egg yolk mixed with juice. Naturally, such paint is not durable and had to be repainted once a year or for the holidays. But in an unspoken competition for the best painting of one’s hut, it was no longer enough to simply repaint or draw the same pattern - it must be made even more beautiful, more exclusive... So, out of the love of the common people for beauty, this one, separate in the method of execution and in the history of development, arose type of fine art Petrikovskaya PAINTING. Many years have passed since the first Cossack hut of the settlement of the glorious Cossack Petrik was painted, and the first seeds of a new folk art were sown. It is believed that it was from him that the name came - Petrykivka, where the famous Petrykivka painting was subsequently born and developed by the Petrykivka Folk Art Center.
There are a lot of photos, but I didn’t even take pictures of everything)
I really liked the exhibition! Enjoy watching!
Petrikovskaya painting, like other types of Slavic painting, got its name from the name of the village of Petrikovo, where it originated. Most often, patterns in this technique decorated household items, the walls of village houses or the clothes of craftsmen, but now this style has become firmly entrenched in modern society and you can find similar pictures in the most unexpected places. Petrikov painting is easy to do - in our article for beginners we offer drawings and descriptions of the implementation.
A coin with the Petrikov painting was even issued after it was included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The main element in Petrikov painting is the so-called runner, depicted as a wavy line on which other elements appear in turn - leaves, flowers and berries. In the painting, this runner symbolizes the boundless happiness of the family, long-term love and prosperity in life.
Initially, masters extracted paints for painting from plants by evaporating them in a special way, but nowadays they mainly use gouache and watercolor. Natural materials also served as tools for painting: sticks made from grass stems, brushes made from cat hair, and the fingers of the master himself.
Petrikov's drawings are applied sequentially in several stages, but despite this, the elements of the pattern never come one after another - this type of painting does not know the overlay of paints and multi-layered patterns. It should also be noted that this type of painting does not use templates and stencils; each master creates to his own taste and adheres only to general rules.
Painting begins with drawing a runner - to do this, green paint must be diluted to a creamy consistency and a wavy line must be drawn. After this, using a pencil, we designate the future outline along which the painting itself will be placed.
After that, using the pad of the index finger, we draw the berries, and using a brush, we draw the desired color options.
In order to better understand Petrikov painting, it is necessary to master the technique of performing its main elements, because all ornamental motifs are made up of them.
We study the basic elements of Petrikov painting for beginners with drawings
Tsibulki.These elements are also called bulbs; with their help, leaves or their individual parts are drawn. In order to draw them, we begin the stroke with a thin line, then smoothly rotate it, simultaneously pressing, and again move to the thin line, easing the pressure.
To complete this element, you will need two paints - put one paint on the brush, and then lightly dip the tip into paint of a different color. At the same time, the technique of execution is almost the same as that of onions.
This element is drawn using the fingertips - without a fingerprint, the berry is considered not alive and does not fit into the Petrikovsky ornament.
To learn how to draw using the Petrikov painting technique, we offer you a master class for children on making panels with flowers, from which you will learn how to draw an ornament using this beautiful and bright technique. These lessons can be relevant not only for children, but also for aspiring artists.
Required materials and tools:
- A sheet of thick A4 paper;
- Simple pencil;
- Brushes of different sizes;
- Water glass;
- Porcelain cup;
- Watercolor paints;
- Palette or flat saucer.
First, you need to make a sketch of the ornament that you are going to paint. The masters of Petrikov painting draw their patterns right away and never use preliminary sketches, since the painting schemes are well-established and worked out to the smallest detail, but since our MK is designed for beginning artists, we will use a preliminary sketch.
Using your fingers and red paint, draw berries of different sizes.
Let's start drawing flowers, for this we use various painting elements. We draw the first flower using the “grain” element, it is similar to bulbs, only we do not turn the brush when doing it, due to which the stroke has the shape of a drop of water.
To depict the second flower, we will use our fingers again - we begin to draw from above, pressing our finger tightly to the paper and smoothly lower it, gradually loosening the pressure. Thanks to this manipulation, the color of the paint is brighter on top and weaker on the bottom.
The third flower is made using the element “curved grain”, or “bulb”, or “tsibulka”.
At this stage, we draw the leaves, for this we use a transition stroke, picking up light-colored paint on the brush and dipping its tip into darker paint, up to black. We simply paint over the middle of the leaf with a light tone.
Now you need to paint over the centers of the flowers, complete the stems, small three-petal flowers (using the elements “seed” and “curved grain”) and connect the individual details of the ornament using “cockerels” - thin lines that unite individual flowers and leaves into a single bouquet.
A simple, but at the same time original and bright drawing in the style of Petrikov painting is ready, all that remains is to place it in a frame and find a suitable place where it can please the eye.
Here are a few more photos with ideas for ornaments using the Petrikov technique - they are quite simple to execute and even beginner artists who are just beginning to master this amazing painting technique can do it.
Video on the topic of the article
In conclusion, we invite you to watch several videos on the topic of how to perform the main details,” in which you will clearly see how individual elements are drawn and combined into a single ornament.
The village of Petrikovka in the Dnepropetrovsk region is one of the few where the traditions of ancient folk crafts are carefully preserved. The famous Petrykivka painting has long become the hallmark of Ukraine. A manual on this type of art has even been published in Canada.
Petrikovka was founded 230 years ago by Peter Kalnyshevsky himself. And immediately an interesting custom arose in this free Cossack village: women began to paint the walls of their huts with colorful floral patterns.
They were painted with brushes made of cat hair, matches wrapped in soft material, and simply with fingers. The paints were diluted with eggs and milk, and the colors were chosen - the brightest, to match the colorful nature of the Dnieper region.
Housewives competed with each other, trying to make their home the most picturesque, and looked jealously at other people's art. They said about the most successful paintings: beautiful, like in a church. But if the house remained white, they stopped greeting the owner as if she were a stranger.
Fyodor Panko, People's Artist: “The Cossacks were boys, they brought beautiful young women from distant regions. And there were other people there. - everyone turned around, no one was left. And if they were not welcomed, there would be great grief. Therefore, the skin mother, so that her daughters lived before, taught all women’s work.”
The most diligent housewives in Petrikovka were called “chepurushkas”. Thanks to them, painting skills were passed on from generation to generation until the 30s of the twentieth century. Then collectivization came, and folk art seemed to fade. Joy disappeared from life, and with it the desire to create beauty.
An attempt to revive the wonderful painting was made by the rural teacher Alexander Stateva. He opened a school and hired the last Petrikov “chepurushka”, Tatyana Pata, as a teacher. And after the war, one of the students of this school - Fyodor Panko - decided to devote himself entirely to folk art. Through his efforts, the creative association “Petrikovka” and an experimental workshop were created in the village, which now employs more than 40 folk craftsmen.
Characteristic features of Petrykivka painting
Modern Petrykivka ornament is characterized by, first of all, as a plant, mainly floral. It is based on a careful study of the real forms of local flora and the creation on this basis of fantastic flowers that do not exist in nature (for example, “onion” or “curly”).
Motifs of garden (dahlias, astri, roses) and meadow (romaine, cornflower) flowers and viburnum berries, strawberries and grapes are widely used.
Also characteristic are the images of foliage, which is called “fern,” buds and feathery lacy foliage. Petrikov's ornamentalists are characterized by an extremely precise eye and amazing dexterity of hand - all masters draw without a pre-planned outline, without using a single measuring instrument. Virtuosity of execution is achieved by writing using a thin brush made of cat hair.
In addition to brushes, Petrikov craftsmen use stems, wood chips, and paint berries and some flowers simply with their fingers.
Petrikovsky masters use egg tempera for painting on paper, gouache, egg tempera and oil paints on the ground for wall painting, and under-varnish painting with oil paints predominates on wood.
The main traditional compositional subjects of Petrykivka painting are decorative panels, which often resemble manufactured carpets of the 19th century, a “pot”, “bouquet”, a separate “twig” and “frieze”.
These types of compositions were used in wall paintings as components of architectural interior decoration. A characteristic feature of a traditional composition, for example, a Petrikovsky “bouquet” is the location in its center of three large flowers, from the sides of which smaller flowers and buds branch off, ending with gracefully curved tendrils and stalks of meadow grass. The color scheme of such a bouquet is always based on the main accent spots (in this case, on the three central colors), which are rhythmically responded to - echoed - by small colored spots of secondary elements of the composition.
The color of traditional Petrykivka painting is characterized by a contrasting combination of primary and additional colors of the spectrum, with red and green colors predominating. Nowadays Petrykivka masters, who already have a certain artistic professional education, often perform their compositions in warm or cold colors.
It is interesting to note that they write from themselves, and not to themselves, as, for example, Khokhloma masters of decorative painting do.
Gradually, a group of semi-professional craftsmen emerged from the Petrykivka peasants, who painted not only the interiors of houses, but also chests, folk musical instruments, sleighs, winnowing machines, and at the beginning of the 20th century they began to make paper sketches.
Tools and materials for decorative Petrykivka painting, their preparation
A novice artist who is going to learn to draw a Petrikovsky ornament needs to have thick paper (preferably whatman paper or half-whatman paper), several brushes of different sizes (homemade cat or squirrel or kolinsky watercolor), a glass for water, a chicken egg (the best with a light yolk), a small porcelain or a plastic cup, palette or flat plate to be used as a palette, and soft artist's watercolor paints, best in tubes (for some exercises it is possible to use gouache and tempera paints).
Before starting work, the paints must be moistened so that they become soft and easy to take on the brush. If the paints are in tubes, then the desired colors are applied to the palette. In the meantime, prepare the egg: carefully separate the white and place only the yolk in a cup. Add one tablespoon of vinegar and water. All good things are mixed. The mixture is poured into a small glass jar with a lid and poured into a cup, as used, in small portions. Unused mixture in a closed jar can be stored in the refrigerator for two to three days.
A flat plate, or thick paper or cardboard is used as a palette. Paints are mixed on the palette and colors are created. Using a clean brush dipped in water, pick up paint and yolk and make a smear on the paper.
At first, the new dry brush looks like a kvachik (broom), but gradually it is brought to the proper shape by selecting out excess hairs. Moistened brush hairs have a long, sharp tip. To maintain the correct shape of the brushes, after use they are washed with soap, rinsed with clean water and stored in an upright position with the hairs facing up. You should never leave brushes in water, as the hairs remain bent for a long time and become unsuitable for painting, and, in addition, the hairs then quickly break and fall out.
To comprehend the magical world of Petrykivka painting, you need to start from the basics.
First of all, let us pay attention to the fact that Petrykivka craftsmen do not use a pencil. They have an extremely precise eye and amazing dexterity of the hand - all masters draw without a pre-drawn outline and do not use a single measuring tool. The future work is conceived in the imagination down to the last line, to the last speck, and only then is it laid down stroke by stroke. But for beginners, we advise you to still mark out the composition on sheets with light lines, indicating the main elements. This will help in arranging and positioning the composition on the paper. Over time, if you acquire the necessary habits, you will be able to work without previous pencil markings.
What do masters use to paint? In their work, they often use even such a “tool” as own fingertip. Dipping their finger into the paint, the craftsmen touch the paper and leave a round spot on it, a little lighter in the center and seemingly surrounded by a darker outline in a circle. By placing a row of berries in this way, you can depict clusters of viburnum, grapes, and rowan.
To avoid drawing with your fingers, you can use a tampon, made from a pencil or stick of the required cross-sectional diameter. But to draw berries of different sizes you will need a lot of swabs. Whereas when drawing with your finger, reflections of different sizes are obtained by pressing your finger on the paper with different forces. For a beginner to master the technology of Petrykivka painting and its elements, we recommend several exercises. For work, it is best to take thick white paper. The leading place in performing these exercises is, of course, the brush. For elements associated with the creation of “grain”, “curved grain”, thin branches and “pitushinnya”, a regular watercolor brush with a thin sharp tip (if it is moistened) is suitable. But according to tradition, to perform these typical, specifically for Petrykivka painting, strokes were used homemade cat brush. To paint large elements (flower petals and leaves), made with a regular or transitional stroke, choose a larger watercolor brush.
Let's study the main elements of Petrykivka painting:
Exercise 1. Performing the “seed” element
A “grain” is a simple stroke, the profile of which depends on the brush. It is one of the main elements of Petrykivka painting, with the help of which all ornamental motifs are created.
Along a vertical line drawn with a pencil, strokes called “grains” are applied with a brush. The brush must be held so that the tendril of the “grain” is perpendicular to the line. In this case, press the body of the brush so that the smear has the shape of a drop of water. By repeating the stroke many times, you should try to get the same distance between strokes. This helps develop the eye and rhythm in the image.
Next, the strokes are applied at an angle relative to the vertical line with the tip up, and then with the tip down, maintaining the same intermediate distance between brush strokes. Now apply these strokes at an angle along the edges of the vertical line, placing the stroke against the stroke.
Mastering this exercise brings you closer to depicting the main visual elements of Petrykivka painting.
Exercise 2. Performing the “curved grain” element
“Curved grain” is a very common element with the help of which “feathery foliage”, “buds”, and flower petals are formed.
To make a “curved grain” you need to lower the tip of the brush onto the paper near the vertical line. Extending a thin line of the antennae, make a slight turn of the brush. This stroke is completed by pressing the “heel” of the brush onto the paper.
Next, strokes (“curved grains”) with elongated tendrils are applied along a vertical line. Drawing a thin line of the tendril, make a slight turn of the brush. This stroke is completed by pressing the heel of the brush to the paper.
Then strokes (curved grains) with elongated tendrils are applied along a vertical line: the first curved grain is extended longer, and the second and third ones are gradually shortened. These smears form identical groups. It is advisable to make the distance between the groups the same.
After you have mastered the skills of depicting this element along a vertical line, you can move on to depicting it along an arcuate line.
The drawing of this exercise resembles the element of Petrikovskaya painting “feathery foliage” and can be used to create one of the typical elements of Petrikovskaya painting - a “runner” (“small wave” or “volnushka”).
Exercise 3. Performing more complex elements of painting from “grains” and “curved grains”
From two strokes of a “curved grain” they make a half-opened flower - a “bud”. The drawings use previously learned elements. The strokes are placed as if the tendrils are stretching from one point, and the rounded parts are connected. It is necessary to place the “buds” at the same distance from one another, turning their antennae in opposite directions. Then the “buds” unite in a group of three elements, and each group turns in the opposite direction.
In the next element, the strokes are arranged in the same way as in the previous one, but each “bud” is made from two large “curved grains” and two smaller strokes of “grains” that are located inside. These elements can be connected with a thin wavy line.
Next, connecting three pairs of “curved grains” and “seeds” (“bud”) to the center, they make a kind of flower. These elements can also be connected with a thin wavy line and you need to pay attention to the size of the flowers, their color, and the distance between them.
This exercise brings us closer to performing one of the most typical elements of Petrykivka painting - the “runner” (“khvylka”).
Exercise 4. Performing the “slider” element
This exercise combines the tasks of the previous exercises. You need to draw a “runner”, which consists of three-petal flowers and “feathery foliage”. Flowers located at the same distance from one another (the inclination of the flower changes each time) are connected by a light wavy line, along the edges of which there are leaves with long tendrils (“pinnate foliage”).
Then the exercise is repeated. It differs from the previous one in that the tendrils of any flower stroke are directed towards its center (to make the flower more expressive, it can be supplemented with a few more “grains”, placing them symmetrically towards the center). In these tasks, as in the previous ones, it is very important to pay special attention to the size of the flowers (they should be almost the same size), the distance between them and their color.
"Runner" is one of the main elements of Petrykivka painting. It can be used for decorative framing of any product.
Exercise 5. Making drawings of leaves using grain strokes
The various shapes of the leaves are obtained with the help of diversified strokes - “grains”. Leaves with a jagged outline are created using elongated “grains” located with the heel towards the middle of the leaf. Other leaves with a wavy contour line are recreated by “grains”, the tendrils of which extend from the midline of the leaf.
In this exercise, you need to pay attention to the precision of the elements; the “grains” should be almost uniform in shape.
Exercise 6. Drawing a chamomile, major, aster
New necessary elements of the composition are created by combining such different strokes as “grain” and “curved grain”. You need to keep in mind their size, location and color. The flowers are based on a “bud”, supplemented in a certain order with small and large petals.
On the basis of the flower "bud" other large floral elements are also built. Depending on the shape of the base (round, elongated, or stretched in width), the shape of the plant element is decided.
Another version of flowers can be made using “seeds” placed in a stake in one or several rows. These strips allow you to make daisies, majors and asters. In the middle of the stake of “grains”, using the end of the brush holder, soaked in thick paint, place a bunch of small specks, which will make the drawing more prominent and cheerful.
Based on these new plant elements, you can create your own flower designs. In this exercise, special attention should be focused on the gradual creation of a new ornamental motif using already familiar techniques.
Exercise 7. Making bunches of viburnum, currants, and nuts using your finger
Petrykivtsi make viburnum berries, grapes, currants and nuts with a fingertip or a stick. Apply paint to your fingertip and make an impression on paper. It can be smaller or larger (when making an impression with a stick, all reflections will be the same size). Having made several berries, place them in the shape of a basket or bunch (the berries are placed one above the other, gradually reducing their size), then connect the berries with thin branches. The design can be supplemented with wavy foliage and thin tendrils, thus creating new interesting elements.
You can use your finger to draw not only berries, but also flowers and leaves. To ensure that the edge of the stroke is rounded, each stroke is filled with paint onto the tip of the finger. For beginners, it is best to outline the shape of the future flower on paper. Flowers and leaves drawn with your finger look good if you first paint over the outlined outline with bright watercolor paint. Then the flower or leaf looks as if it is illuminated from the inside.
Such branches and flowers are important elements of many more or less complex compositions of Petrykivka painting.
Exercise 8. Drawing leaves of maple, viburnum, grapes, fern
This exercise is performed with a larger (thicker) brush than the previous ones. This type of foliage is painted using an elongated stroke. The middle of the leaf is drawn with an elongated stroke, other strokes are placed at an acute angle to the middle of the first stroke. The tip of each stroke (antennae) is the teeth of the leaflets.
The foliage of maple and viburnum is more complex in its structure. It consists of three similar parts: a tridentated central top and two lateral ones. This foliage begins to be drawn from the central part, from the middle clove, which will be the basis of the entire leaf. Two strokes are added along the edges, which are connected at the bottom. Then the side part of the leaf is done in the same way, again starting from the middle clove. This image can be left in one color or add subtle veins with dark paint.
Another variant of the foliage structure is the fern leaf. The structure of this leaf is as follows: one central stroke, next to it is a second stroke, a side one, and so on.
You need to learn how to do this exercise so that each stroke is light and relaxed.
In the robots of Petrykivka craftsmen, especially the older generation, this feature attracts attention: thin veins of leaves are drawn with the pointed tip of a wooden brush holder, and the petals of some flowers, for example, asters, are drawn with a sliver or twig. This is done when the applied paint is still wet, and the image looks like a solid colored spot. The brush is immediately placed with the brush up and the tip of the holder is drawn along the wet line of the veins, or several grooves-stitches are drawn from the center of the flower spot with a sliver, which form a pattern of petals.
Exercise 9. Performing the “transition stroke” element
This exercise, like the previous one, is performed with a larger hand than in the first exercises. In Petrykivka painting, the effect of a smooth transition from one saturated color to a lighter one or vice versa is often encountered. This is achieved with a transition stroke. Paint a bright color (for example, green) onto a brush, then paint a lighter color (for example, yellow) with the tip of the brush. The first stroke is made: first a light (yellow) tendril is pulled, a second shade (green) gradually appears, which gains full strength at the end of the stroke. For a new smear, the entire process is repeated.
Next, you need to learn how to make a “transitional stroke” when drawing a flower with tempera paints and gouache. First, take one paint onto the brush. Then another bright color of paint is put on the tip of the brush and a stroke is made.
Tempera enhances the color transition, making the image more expressive and clearer. Flowers and leaves can be of various shapes, they can be supplemented with “grain” and “curved grain” strokes.
In this exercise, it is important to determine the required sparseness of the paints, the amount of paint that needs to be put on the brush, and to achieve the quality of the “transitional stroke”. You should also pay attention to the combination of two brushes in this work: a thin and a thicker artistic brush.
Exercise 10. Combining ornament details using “pitushins”
To make the composition look complete, in Petrykivka painting they use the so-called “pitushinnya”, that is, the connection of both individual strokes in flowers and leaves, and individual elements among themselves. These can be thin lines connected at one point in the flowers, along the central line in the flower, or various “blades of grass”, “buds”, small berries, buds, spikelets and a great variety of other small details that are placed around the main elements or along the stem in bouquets.
Using a thin brush, we will draw several thin lines that converge at one point, then arrange them along the axis of symmetry in the sheets. Let's try to arrange "blades of grass", "berries", "buds", "spikelets" along the stem.
These elements are additional means to enrich the picture. But, despite this, they occupy a strong and important place in Petrykivka painting, since they are the final element of the entire work, giving it lightness, liveliness and volume.
Petrikovskaya painting
(Petrykivka)
Back in the middle of the 18th century, the Dnieper places were chosen for settlement by the Kosh Ataman of the Zaporozhian Army, Pyotr Kalnyshevsky, whose name remained to live forever in the name of one of the most beautiful villages of the Dnieper region - Petrikovka. The land of Petrikovka has raised more than one generation of folk art masters. Petrykivka fairs have long been famous throughout the Dnieper region, where the products of local “draftswomen” - craftswomen who painted houses and their interior decoration - were especially valued. The quick, skillful hands of sorceresses worked wonders, transforming a poor peasant monastery into a beautiful home.
The most diligent housewives in Petrikovka were called “chepurushkas.” Thanks to them, painting skills were passed on from generation to generation. However, there were only a few real masters of painting: and it was impossible to satisfy everyone who wanted to decorate their native walls. That's when the smartest of them began to draw floral patterns on paper. Paper “little ones,” as people called them, could be made at any free time of the year and even in bad winter weather. Over time, these simple pictures, gradually replacing wall paintings, become a favorite decoration in peasant life in the Dnieper region. To this day, in some houses in Petrikovka, Loboikivka, Kitaigorod and other nearby villages you can find “little ones” placed in the “red corner”, on the stove, window frames, and shelves for dishes.
The enchanting beauty of the Petrikovsky flower was discovered for contemporaries by the Ekaterinoslav historian and ethnographer D.I. Yavornitsky. He was one of the first to become a serious researcher and enthusiastic collector of the works of Petrykivka “draftswomen”.
The classic elements of Petrykivka painting are the plants surrounding the artist, the image of which, by the way, is not used in any of the existing types of painting. Ornamental motifs, where bright, rich colors predominate, attract attention not only with their color, but also with the amazing integrity of the creative idea. And the apparent simplicity of the drawing at first glance actually hides the long and painstaking work of the artist, who filigreely depicted the smallest details of the picture. Obviously, this is exactly how a miracle should be born, which is destined to be perceived not with the eyes, but with the soul and heart. The main motifs of the painting are wildflowers, viburnum branches, hollyhocks, peonies, and asters.
If you look into the origins of the craft, you can trace how its roots sprouted on the fertile soil of the art of the Zaporozhye Sich, how the basis of flower arrangements was laid, on the one hand, by the traditions of ornament, widely used by the Cossacks to decorate their life and weapons, and on the other, by peasant understanding and experiencing the beauty of the surrounding world.
Despite different approaches to depicting nature, the masters of Petrykivka decorative painting were united by their love for their land. Their works are a direct response to nature, which is rare in its richness and generosity. For a true creator, she is always a source of inspiration. In folk art, the connection between the artist and his native land is especially deep and direct. Therefore, from time immemorial, the originality of nature has been in folk art the source of limitless variations in forms and activities, designs of ornamental patterns, and color palette. This pagan worship of earthly wealth, notes the art of the Petrikovites, prompts them to create a unique decorative and artistic chronicle of the flora and fauna of the Dnieper region.
However, the Petrykivka ornament is not a direct reflection of natural motifs. The world created in the paintings is the fruit of the creative imagination of the folk artist. That is why he is so close to the heart, cheerful and festively beautiful.
As if by the wave of the hand of a master magician, amazing “rays” and “curls”, roses and ferns bloom on the paper, unprecedented firebirds and doves, owls and cuckoos fly in, goldfish swim from the fabulous ocean-sea. Ordinary colors begin to shimmer with strange stones.
Petrykivka residents extracted their rainbow colors from herbs, leaves, berries and flowers they knew from childhood, boiling them in a special way. The favorite red color was obtained from cherry juice, green from wheatgrass and nightshade leaves, and blue from snowdrop flowers. Various shades of yellow were produced by sunflower petals, onion peels and apple tree bark. The paints were diluted with egg yolk and milk, and fixed with cherry glue or beet sugar. Much later, factory dyes appeared, and only in the post-war period they began to use gouache and watercolor. Tools for painting were also of natural origin. Sticks from tree sprouts, stems of marsh grasses, homemade brushes from cat hair and the fingers of the master himself - this is a small set of artistic tools that folk craftsmen used to create a wide variety of floral ornament compositions that surprise us to this day.
Petrikovskaya painting traditionally performed on the whitewashed wall of a Ukrainian mud hut. Not only the facades of the house were painted, but often the interior walls of the premises, stoves, fireplaces were also decorated - all this created a single artistic ensemble.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the painting, beloved by the residents of Petrykivka, spread to household items - furniture, dishes, chests, chaises. The need for such decoration encouraged entire families to take up painting, offering their works at the bazaar. And since Petrikovka was a major shopping center at that time, the works of rural artists gained popularity in other regions of Ukraine.
At the end of the 19th century, Petrikovka easily mastered oil paints, which local craftsmen had not previously used. The art of painting developed, new color combinations appeared, and technology improved.
Later, when paper became available for sale, so-called “little ones” began to be drawn in Petrikovka. A leading role in this was played by a group of folk craftsmen who lived and worked in Kyiv. Under their influence, the fundamental principles of creativity of Petrykivka artists are formed. With the onset of the First World War, and then the civil war and especially collectivization, Petrykivka painting fell into decay. Perhaps this wonderful folk tradition would have been lost forever if it had not been for the ascetic, local teacher Alexander Stativa. Thanks to his efforts, a rural school of decorative drawing was opened in 1936, the teacher of which was the last Petrikovka Chepurushka, Tatyana Pata. This unique woman, who could neither read nor write, taught the subtleties of craftsmanship to a whole galaxy of artists. After the war, one of the school’s students, Fyodor Panko, created the creative association “Petrikovka” in the village, and then an experimental workshop for varnish painting, which enriched folk art with a new genre.
Petrykivka painting is truly one of the unique manifestations of Ukrainian artistic culture. An ancient culture, which is rooted in the depths of history, created over the centuries by the work and talent of our ancestors and contemporaries. A purely national culture, unclouded by extraneous impurities and influences, embodying the spiritual wealth and creative generosity of the Ukrainian people.
Technique of Petrikov painting
Masters of Petrikov painting use a variety of materials and devices - homemade brushes, pipettes, pacifiers, cotton swabs, toothpicks, squirrel brushes and simply the master’s fingers.
For work we will need: gouache, PVA glue, a simple pencil, brushes (it is better to use a cat brush, I will tell you how to make it below, and for those who do not have such an opportunity, you can use ordinary squirrel brushes No. 2, 3, 4), palette, water, pipette, palette knife.
Making a cat brush
You can make a cat brush yourself, because... they are not sold in the store. It is with this brush that exquisite, brightly colorful strokes are made.
To make a cat brush, we need cat hair, cut off very carefully from the cat’s belly area, or on the sides or at the base of the paws. The cat must have short or medium hair. It is from there, because only there is it the softness and thickness we need. You also need a stick - the body of the brush. A thread. PVA glue.
When all the “ingredients” are collected, let's start making the brush. We take a stick and sharpen it on one side.
We wrap a bunch of wool around the pointed end of the stick.
We rewind the thread tightly, several layers. We tie it tightly. Afterwards we carefully and very well soak it with PVA glue.
Make sure that the glue does not get on the wool. Let the brush dry for about a day.
Where to start painting
Before you start painting, you need to dilute the paint. Place a small amount of gouache on the palette with a palette knife, add PVA glue in a 2:1 ratio, stir everything with a palette knife and, diluting with water, bring it to the consistency of sour cream.
For the first training work, it is enough to dilute one paint. The brush is held like an ordinary pencil, while the hand should rest on the table so that the strokes are even and precise. The base on which you paint can be turned in different directions - this makes it more convenient to guide the brush and make the correct strokes.
Before drawing a flower, mark its outline (circle) and center with a pencil. Then we make strokes with a brush, without going beyond the contour. We make strokes from the contour to the center. For the leaves, we also outline the contour and center, and also draw strokes from the contour to the center.
On a squirrel brush No. 3 we draw paint. We begin to draw a stroke from a thin line, then, pressing the brush, we expand the stroke and again release the pressure, turning into a thin line.
Again, apply paint to the squirrel brush No. 3. We make a stroke immediately with strong pressure on the brush, and then, easing the pressure, smoothly reduce the stroke to a thin line. From such strokes chamomile petals and leaves are obtained.
On brush number 3, pick up paint. Starting the stroke with a thin line, press the brush with a smooth turn and, loosening the pressure, again move to the thin tip. Repeat the stroke, turning the brush in the other direction.
Such semicircular strokes are called “tsibulki” (translated from Ukrainian as “onions”), they can be used to draw leaves and their individual elements.
Working with a pipette
Pull the rubber part of the pipette onto the glass tip to such a level that it springs slightly, but does not bend. Dip the rubber part of the pipette into red paint and use a vertical movement to make an imprint on the paper. It turns out to be a round berry. By repeating this operation many times, we create a group of berries and thus depict a bunch of viburnum or rowan.
Dip the rubber part of the pipette into the paint, make an imprint and pull the pipette towards you - you get a flower petal.
We draw the outline of the flower with a pencil and use the method described above to paint its petals with a pipette.
Transitional stroke done with two colors.
We mix two colors on the palette - for example, red and yellow (as an option - green and yellow, ruby and yellow). We put yellow paint on the brush, then dip the tip in red and make a stroke. At the same time, the more we dip the brush into red paint, the less yellow color will remain in the stroke, and the more red color will remain.
We change the paint on the brush - first put green paint on the brush, and dip the tip in yellow. At the same time, the more we dip the brush into yellow paint, the lighter (yellower) the stroke will be. In this way, green leaves with yellow tips are depicted.
The resulting flowers and leaves are decorated with a thin brush with darker paint, and small yellow dots representing the stamens are made with the back of the brush.
Take a squirrel brush No. 2 or a cat hair brush. We pick up paint, keeping the tip of the brush pointed. By moving from a thin line to a wide one using pressure, we get a drop-shaped stroke. Flowers and buds are usually created with such strokes.
In the compositions of Petrikovskaya painting, in addition to large, large flowers and leaves, small elements are also depicted - these are small flowers, daisies, buds, berries. Basically, for small elements, use a thin brush No. 1 or a cat hair brush.
Small compositions in the form of postcards are called “little ones”. Having completed all the previous exercises, you can begin the small fish.
With a pencil we outline the contours and centers of flowers and leaves. We clearly draw the flower stems and leaf petioles, and also outline where the small elements will be located.
The color scheme of Petrikov painting is very diverse, and therefore is always pleasing to the eye. And yet, the traditional color combination is green leaves and red shades of flowers, and auxiliary colors are yellow, burgundy and orange.
For large compositions, use a pencil to outline the general shape of the composition, be it rectangular, square, oval, round or diamond-shaped. Here, as in other forms of art, the rules and laws of composition are observed. All connections and stems in the painting should under no circumstances be sharply broken; the lines should smoothly transition into one another.