Connecting with nature through art: Anton Dymtchenko

Anton Dymtchenko is a visual artist from Montreal, QC. He completed the Drawing and Painting Program at the Florence Academy of Art (Italy) between 2012 - 2015. Upon his return to Canada, he illustrated for the Montreal Botanical Garden. In 2017, he settled in Quebec City to produce works in a personal style, blending reality and imagination. Below, Anton shares the inspiration and process behind his unique paintings and tips for practicing mindfulness in nature.

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Photo by Anton Dymtchenko

I was raised in the middle of a big city, surrounded by bricks, asphalt and cement. Of course, there were city parks and even a botanical garden but nothing you could call “the wild”. That kind of environment felt normal to me for two decades. As I wandered in wilder places during my twenties, a sense of peace slowly settled upon the anxiety of my urban life. As I finished my artistic training, the source of that newly found well-being trickled into my art until it took over completely.

“Mother Nature” by Anton Dymtchenko

On spending time outdoors

I try to adapt all my favourite activities to the outdoors, especially during the warmest half of the year. As often as possible, I go outdoors to paint, write, read, walk, run, eat, and spend time with loved ones. I am typing this very sentence on my tablet computer while sitting on a bench in the Plains of Abraham park.

Every square kilometre of Canadian wilderness has its story to tell. I am happy to explore the depths of the woods, the top of a hill, the shore of a river or the open air of a valley. Nature has no hierarchy of beauty. Every tree, every leaf, every nook can be enjoyed for its uniqueness when we dare to look close enough. I have observed thousands of trees; I have drawn hundreds and I have yet to find a single one that isn’t beautiful. So, I cannot choose one area or even a few. My favourite place in nature is the one I am lucky to be part of in the present moment.

“She Fell” by Anton Dymtchenko

On creating art inspired by nature

Needless to say, nature is my main inspiration. Most of our modern troubles come from trying to separate ourselves from it. In my art, I express a sustainable harmony between humans and our natural environment. I aim to illustrate a unity between consciousness, anatomy, and nature. To do so, I blend reality and imagination to tell a compelling story within the picture. This is the best way I see to contribute to human well-being with the skillset of a visual artist.

A FAVOURITE PAINTING AND THE INSPIRATION BEHIND IT 

My latest work, “Eye of Nature” embodies everything I mentioned previously. As I was walking alone in the woods, I observed my surroundings. Then, a peculiar idea came to me: “What if I am as much the observer as the observed?” Surely, the trees, the grass, the bugs, the birds must be feeling my presence as much as I am feeling theirs. Nature must be looking at me as much as I am looking at it. Maybe it sees me through my own eyes. Maybe I picture myself as separate because of the imaginary boundaries of my ego. What if I drop them to connect?

“Eye of Nature” by Anton Dymtchenko

Anton’s advice for getting outside and unplugged

My main advice would be to use nature as a target of meditation. What I mean by that, is to train one’s mind to focus on the beauty of nature every time unwanted thoughts appear. For instance, during a walk in the park, one’s mind might be fragmented by thoughts about an unpaid bill, problems at work, the memory of an ex or a hundred other things. Every time such thoughts appear, one can always redirect focus on the crunchy sound of dry leaves, the warm rays shining through the canopy, the smell of blooming flowers or a hundred other things happening in the biosphere. This process is accelerated for me because I must observe nature attentively to turn it into art. I suppose my case is similar to botanists, zoologists, geologists, hiking instructors, scientific filmmakers and other professionals working in nature. But that kind of peaceful focus is available to all people.

Thank you so much, Anton!

Connecting with nature through art: April Lacheur

April Lacheur is a professional visual artist / painter living in Maple Ridge, BC. She paints unique interpretations of West Coast nature with special focus on the beauty and magic of trees. Read on to learn more about April’s nature-inspired artwork, favourite ways to spend time outdoors and advice for getting outside and unplugged.

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By April Lacheur

I’m a full-time visual artist that paints my interpretations of BC’s nature with focus on the magnificent trees and forests that surround me. I’ve been a working artist for the past 14 years and was also a Registered Nurse. I now focus all of my time on my art career, having left the nursing profession 2 years ago. I work from my backyard studio in beautiful Maple Ridge, BC, among the trees and am often accompanied by my dog Maple, who of course is named after a tree. 

On spending time outdoors

My favorite thing to do is spend time wandering in the forest, which I do often. I love to observe all of the magic that is happening in the forest and imagine all of the wonders that I can not see, such as the underground communication between the trees, plants and fungi.

Tree roots, nurse stumps and fungi fascinate me the most and I am deeply inspired by the idea that everything is working together in harmony in the forest. The idea that the old nurtures the new and that trees and plants communicate and watch out for each other is something we as humans can learn from. I feel calm, joyful and a sense that I am part of something bigger when I am in the forest. 

By April Lacheur

I am lucky to live in Maple Ridge where there are lots of wonderful outdoor adventures close by. Golden Ears Provincial Park offers some amazing trails and Cliff Falls is also a favourite spot to explore. I also love all of the incredible nurse stumps and loads of fungi in Tynehead Regional Park in Surrey.

One of my favourite places to visit is Vancouver Island and I am especially enamoured by the wild natural beauty in Tofino. Arbutus trees are my very favourite tree and I love exploring Vancouver Island and finding gorgeous Arbutus trees along the way.

On creating art inspired by nature

I am most well known as a ‘tree artist’. I rarely paint something that does not include at least one tree. My work is not meant to be hyper-realistic and instead are my own unique interpretations of the nature that surrounds me. I do not paint from one specific location or photo but instead, I spend time in nature, especially the forest, collecting inspirations in my mind and then blend the ideas and inspirations together on the canvas. My work often includes bold colours and flowing line work as well as trees, fungi, stumps, seedlings and water. I am inspired by the ideas of connection and communication in the forest and how we can learn from this harmony. 

By April Lacheur

A favourite moment from connecting with nature 

I enjoy camping in the forest so anytime we get to camp among the large old growth trees makes for wonderful memories! This past year we converted a sprinter van into a camper van so we could get out and camp in nature even more and are looking forward to taking in more of beautiful BC this spring and summer.

April’s advice for getting outside and unplugged

Get out there! And also, take your time. Walk slowly when you are in the forest and truly observe. Look for the smaller details. Go hunting for cool fungi and look for cozy spots where an animal might hide. Touch the fuzzy moss, observe the tree roots and imagine all of the roots tangled beneath your feet just under the path. I love taking photos while I’m in the forest of all the small details because it makes me look closer for them. I think a bingo-type scavenger hunt in the forest would be a fun thing to do with kids! 

Thank you so much, April! 

Connecting with nature through art: Laura Levitsky

Award-winning visual artist Laura Levitsky is recognized for her artwork inspired by British Columbia’s landscapes, wildlife and landmarks. Here, Laura shares her favourite ways to spend time outdoors, places to go for adventures in BC and process behind her detailed wildlife paintings.  

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“Tiny Treasures” by Laura Levitsky

I am an artist, a mom, and a grandma. I have loved the outdoors for as long as I can remember, staring out across the prairie fields where I grew up, and loving every inch of every landscape when we travelled through the United States where I was born.  

I always sketched and painted throughout my childhood and dreamed of becoming a well-known artist when I grew up. I remember going on a school field trip to Henry Ripplinger’s art studio. He was the father of one of my classmates. I was in awe of everything that room stood for. Robert Bateman was another one of my early inspirations.   

I always got up close and personal when looking at artwork, trying to make the brush strokes to answer the question, “how’d they do that”? After my children were born and old enough that I could get some odd hours to myself, I went out and bought few tubes of paint, just the basics, a couple of brushes, and a small canvas. I painted at my kitchen table, canvas laying flat on the table instead of up on an easel since I didn’t have one yet. I would sit up on my knees to look down. Lots has changed since then. My art supplies and equipment for shows take up most of my house and my husband likes to joke about him only having a closet to himself.  

I haven’t stopped painting since picking up those basic supplies, and since have been awarded with provincial awards with BC Wildlife Federation, national awards with Ducks Unlimited, and international awards with Artists for Conservation. Inclusive to all of my awards, I find it most rewarding when my customers and collectors fall in love with a piece and see something in it that touches their soul like it did mine as I composed and painted it. 

On spending time outdoors 

My favorite ways to spend time outdoors are anything from working in my garden, visiting an animal/bird sanctuary, hiking wetlands or through mountain trails, or kayaking in the ocean and in BC’s beautiful lakes.  

I always feel healthier with outdoor activities, taking me away from all the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle. I like to focus on one spot for a while, taking in all the little things that has emerged or landed there. I love how new trees emerge from old fallen trees, how an old stump can look like a miniature forest with all it’s different kind of mosses all competing for space. I love finding delicate skeletons of fallen leaves where all of the flesh has disappeared back into the earth leaving behind a faint structure of a leaf's veins that look like lace.  

There is so much to see past the obvious trees and plants. It brings me a sense of peace and happiness and inspires my work. I try to include some of these little things in my work, creating the same idea of looking past the obvious. In my loon painting, “Lonesome Loon”, there are damselflies in the reeds, there is an indication of spider webbing that hummingbirds use to build a nest in my piece “Tiny Treasures”, there are small pixie cup lichen growing on the spruce tree in my piece “Saw-whet Owl”, and so on.   

”Lonesome Loon” by Laura Levistky 

My favorite places to go for outdoor adventures are anywhere I will find nature undisturbed. I love to take old roads and wonder, “where does that go”, as in my kayak getting into areas where most boats can’t travel. It takes me into the far ends of a marsh and through wetlands, into back ponds that have been flooded by beavers.  

But to find nature undisturbed doesn’t mean you have to travel to the middle of nowhere. Since nature always adapts, if you look hard enough you can find it in your backyard. As mentioned earlier, I love to visit animal and bird sanctuaries. These are great places to get up close and personal with animals that have a safe place to go about their business without the threat of humans interfering. It’s a wildlife window.  

BC has an abundance of beautiful places to visit for outdoor adventure. Wells Gray Park, full of history of the earth’s formation, waterfalls, glacier mountains and lakes. I love everything about what is referred to as the Hot Springs Circle Route. It includes Idaho Peaks in the Kootenays and Meadows in the Sky near Revelstoke.  

They are places where you can feel like you are on top of the world where you are so high up in the alpine you can watch a hawk floating on the wind right at eye level. You can bask in the thick alpine flowers, some of which you have never seen before. Take in caving at Cody caves in the Kootenays, or Horn Lake caves on the Island. Paddling Ghost Lake in the Cariboo region, the glacier mountains tower over you at every turn on the lake and in the fall, you can have your fill of wild blueberries, huckleberries and salmonberries. I have so many favorite places and so many more on my to-do list. 

A favourite painting and the inspiration behind it 

A favorite piece of artwork is of a Barred Owl titled “Keeping Watch”. I always do research on my subjects which include field sketches, gathering photos, making note of the habitat, reading up on behaviors and collecting moss, twigs, plants, whatever I want to study and can bring back to my studio.  In this case I knew of a falconer who graced me with the opportunity to spend an afternoon with this beautiful owl.  

”Keeping watch” by Laura Levitsky 

I refer to all of my own reference materials to compose a painting, so being able to study him in person for more than what would normally be a fleeting moment in the wild was spectacular. I love my job!  This painting won a Medal of Excellence Award, an international award through Artists for Conservation.   

Laura’s advice for getting outside and unplugged 

Any tip I have for anyone on how to connect with nature would be firstly, to get out there, start with somewhere close, maybe a short hike for starters or visit a nearby sanctuary. Then I would have to say spend some time in just one spot and really look and listen to what is there, take in the surroundings.  Connecting with nature is opening your eyes to what I said before, seeing past the obvious. You know the old saying, “stop and smell the roses”. 

Thank you so much, Laura!