Jana Chebotova’s watercolors dwell in the moment, commemorating the fresh sweetness of a bouquet or the slickness of a city street immediately following a morning rainfall. But Chebotova’s work also dwells in the realm of the past, traversing a long history of sublime still life paintings. The sixteenth and seventeenth century Dutch masters gravitated toward the same subject matter as Chebotova does, relishing the ethereal beauty of flowers, fruits and other perishable, organic substances. Yet, unlike her historical predecessors, Chebotova’s pallet and painterly sensibility are more expressionistic than realistic. She uses airy blues, greens, and earth tones, colors that suggest that the world’s natural beauty far surpasses the political and social ugliness that taints people’s lives.

The lively, nature-like characteristics of watercolor dictate the mood of Chebotova’s paintings. Occasionally, the medium even overpowers the subject matter, turning foliage into expressive puddles or indistinguishable expanses of color.  The artist lives and works in Kharkiv, Ukraine. She has exhibited widely and currently teaches at Kharkiv National Pedagogical University.