Born and raised in Ukraine, Margarita Chaplinska’s glowing, light-filled oil paintings of portraits and landscapes have consistently won “Best in Show” awards at local museums, fairs and art centers. Teaching in the traditional European style—which is based in classical technique and fundamentals—at her art studio in Roseville, Chaplinska enlightens others to her ability of tuning in to the extraordinary in the everyday. “I hope that through my paintings people can see and feel the beauty of human nature, soul and life.”

HLB: What inspires you? 

MC: Ordinary things inspire me—nothing special. [I try to] illuminate an everyday image with the painting of light. The most important thing (in my paintings) is the combination of light and shadow and how this describes emotion. I guess it’s the way light reacts to the everyday, and then the development of techniques that exhibit that light.

HLB: Has your Ukrainian heritage influenced you? 

MC: Being from Ukraine and now living here, I appreciate the nature and culture of where I was born. It’s very different from here, and I appreciate the memory of that different place. I spent a lot of time in art schools and ultimately at the Academy of Fine Art in Kiev, learning classical methods in watercolor and oils. My early attention to watercolor has affected the way I use oils now.

HLB: Why oils?  

MC: My attraction to oils is primarily based on texture. I’m currently experimenting with using oils in different ways, strokes and combinations of color, and exploring how to combine abstraction and the decorative to my realistic figurative compositions.

HLB: How do you handle setbacks?

MC: I work and practice without stopping. Even negative results will lead you to progress in the future. My best work has always been done immediately after my biggest failures.

HLB: You teach many young artists. What’s your best tip? 

MC: Begin with the techniques and advice of the old masters and then develop your own informed style.

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