American painter Edward Hopper
captured the essence of the changes
and challenges of the times in his
artworks.
Various atmospheres were created
through light and shadow, and mood
and character were conveyed by
depicting contemplative moments.
The diverse perspectives contained
in his works arouse the curiosity
and interest of visitors, creating
many interpretations to this day.
@Maria, who was selected for
the Hall of Fame in January,
is creating a lot of inspiration
through various perspectives on
historical figures, landscapes, and
objects.
@Maria's work contains a variety of
perspectives.
@Maria expresses the various aspects
of the person's gaze, such as the
expression, clothing, and the
surrounding environment, in
beautiful paintings.
At the same time, a wide range of
topics ranging from animals,
landscapes, and food are combined
with a unique painting style to
make it feel like we are
encountering the wide world through
paintings.
We would like to find out through
an interview how the artist came to
create this work.
Now, let’s begin the interview with
the author.
Q1. @PENUP
Hello artist.
This is PENUP manager.
First, congratulations on being
selected for the January 2024
Hall of Fame.
Please tell us about yourself.
A1. @Maria
Hello PENUP team and everyone who
took the time to read the interview.
My name is Maria, I am from Crimea.
I have always loved to draw since
I was a child.
At school I went to art club and
took part in different competitions.
In general, I love creativity in all
its manifestations.
In fact, our life is creativity.
I also enjoy taking photos and
making different handcrafts.
Now I am studying at the university
to become an advertising and public
relations specialist.
I was very pleasantly surprised
when my penup friends started
congratulating me on being selected
for the HOF.
For me, this is the best New Year's
2024 gift.
When I started posting my drawings,
such recognition was something
impossible for me.
I admired the work of local artists
and dreamed of getting here someday
too.
Thank you for this opportunity.
Q2. @PENUP
The first piece was uploaded in
April 2021.
Since then, you have been constantly
uploading your work.
We are curious about how you came to
know about PENUP and upload your work.
A2. @Maria
I found out about PENUP after
I bought myself a tablet.
It was very important for me to be
able to draw on it, as I wanted to
try digital drawing.
And these portraits were my first
attempts.
I was researching what functions my
device has and came across PENUP.
I posted my drawing without any
expectations.
But I got support very quickly,
which motivated me to keep my work.
If it wasn't PENUP, I would
definitely paint a lot less.
Q3. @PENUP
You were drawing a variety of works,
including people, landscapes,
animals, and food.
Could you tell us what devices and
apps these works are created with?
A3. @Maria
I draw on two devices.
On my Samsung Galaxy Tab 6 lite
tablet and Samsung Galaxy Note10
lite phone.
I like to experiment and try
different applications, although
I don't get used to the functions
very quickly.
I mostly use PENUP and IbisPaint X
and also draw in Huion Sketch or
Infinite Painter.
Q4. @PENUP
You were drawing a variety of
subjects, including people and
beautiful landscapes.
We are curious what inspired you to
draw.
A4. @Maria
I am always inspired and delighted
by the beauty of our world.
Especially the everyday things
in our lives that we tend to
overlook in the hustle and bustle
of our days.
Drawing always calms me down and
lifts my mood, the process itself is
some kind of meditation for me.
When you're doing creative work,
you always notice more, and we
artists are lucky with that.
In addition, when I went to art club,
I had teachers who believed in me
and supported me.
This strengthened my love for
drawing.
Q5. @PENUP
The feed contained images of various
people.
Various appearances, including
facial expressions and clothes,
caught our eyes.
Who do you primarily choose as the
model for your artwork?
Also, what is the reason for
portraying people in your drawings?
A5. @Maria
I am usually inspired by references
of people on the Internet or in
everyday life.
I can be attracted to different
things.
Somewhere it's a facial expression,
somewhere it's a pose, clothes,
general impression.
However, I think the most important
thing is the mood coming from the
person.
The reason for choosing people in my
drawings is simple - I like people,
their individuality, different
appearance.
Also I want to improve myself in
portrait painting.
Q6. @PENUP
You portrayed various animals in
your paintings along with people.
We’re curious how you came to draw
these animals.
A6. @Maria
I didn't draw a lot of animals
before, I think PENUP helped me to
draw them more.
For example, I painted this penguin
for one of the challenges.
I wanted to convey the freezing cold
in this painting and the penguin,
which is an integral part of the
surrounding nature.
Here I used watercolor brushes for
painting.
As for the cat, I painted this piece
in PENUP.
I wanted to practice using brushes
here.
From my point of view, many cat
owners will recognize their pet on
this drawing.
But we love them just the way they
are;)
I also made a sketch of this cat for
remixes by other artists.
As a result, several talented
artists drew their own wonderful
versions of cats.
Q7. @PENUP
We enjoyed various landscapes in
your artworks.
Are the places depicted in your
painting real?
Also, what do you think is the
appeal of landscape painting,
which is different from portrait
painting?
A7. @Maria
Some places are real and some
aren't.
For example, I have a series of
drawings that depict places from my
hometown.
In the future, I would like to draw
more from life to share the places
I see every day.
I also made a couple of drawings
during the trip.
I found some places on the Internet.
I would really like to see them live.
There are also those drawings,
the places in which were my fantasy
or a combination of different places.
Portraits and landscapes are my
favorite themes in drawings.
I think that in portrait drawing a
person’s emotion and conveying
character are important.
In a landscape, color plays a big
role (I often change colors, the
location of objects and focus on
what I like best)
Q8. @PENUP
You also captured food and flowers
in your works.
We are curious how you came to draw
this piece.
Moreover, are there any other topics
you would like to try?
A8. @Maria
Lately I haven’t been drawing food
or flowers much and I think it needs
to be fixed.
I quickly drew this dessert as a
sketch when I was just starting my
PENUP journey.
The big disadvantage of drawing food
is that you become hungry in the
process, which is probably why I
don’t draw it too often.
I love flowers very much, and in the
picture they will remain forever
and they will never wither.
I enjoy drawing individual leaves
and petals.
But in fact, I sometimes spend even
more time on drawing flowers than on
portraits.
I would probably like to draw
architecture and different buildings
and try to make illustrations for
something, for example books.
This would be completely new to me,
but very interesting.
Q9. @PENUP
You have also been painted coloring
designs with your own unique colors.
What designs do you usually choose
to color?
Also, what is the appeal of
coloring?
A9. @Maria
I usually choose the coloring pages
that I like.
Basically the themes are the same as
in my drawings: portraits,
landscapes, flowers and animals.
I really enjoy seeing how different
the coloring pages turn out,
everyone brings their own
perspective.
You can color while sitting in line,
sometimes on public transport,
in short, anywhere.
In addition, colorings allow you to
completely improvise with color and
bring all your ideas to life.
Q10. @PENUP
Last question.
Please tell us if you have anything
you would like to improve or
the story you want to tell while
using PENUP
A10. @Maria
Unfortunately, PENUP has a problem
that unscrupulous users upload other
people's drawings or AI drawings.
There may be a need for some kind of
system that would help quickly find
such works and delete them.
Because I believe that the essence
of this application is to develop
your own skills.
In general, I like and am satisfied
with the app.
Finally, I think we all need to
remind ourselves that the most
important thing about drawing is to
enjoy the process, and then
everything else.
There is no need to focus on the
ideality of the result.
Express yourself through creativity.
Only you see the world in your own
special way, no one can draw like
you.
And everyone is an artist:)
How was the interview with @Maria?
Edward Hopper have inspired many
painters by drawing the underbelly
of the city and incorporating
psychological intent into the human
form.
@Maria observed history, people,
and objects and expressed unique
emotions and expressions in her
works, giving us unique inspiration.
Those of you who are reading this
article, why not try drawing the
various perspectives you saw and
felt?
It would be fun to draw a picture
from your own perspective on a topic
that came to mind through
observation or imagination and talk
about it.
We hope that everyone's artworks
will fill PENUP with unique
interpretations from diverse
perspectives.
