Dayspring in 1000 piece puzzle from Paperblanks

Just look at a beautiful puzzle with 1000 pieces! It's called Dayspring and is a tribute to the 17th century Petrykivka" paintings in Ukraine.

Olena Skytsiuk is one of the leading practitioners of Ukrainian "Petrykivka" painting, a style born in the 17th century. Originally, these paintings were used to decorate household items and were displayed on a white background. Today's Petrykivka artists work on colorful backgrounds, as seen on this Dayspring puzzle.

Since the 17th century, "Petrykivka" painting has been a common sight in the Cossack settlements of the Dnieper River in Ukraine. At the time, beauty was believed to have the power to ward off evil spirits. In Olena's Garden, our series of Olena Skytsiuk's paintings, you will encounter the same poetic beauty that emerged from the Ukrainian villages.

Named after the village where it has survived to this day, the Petrykivka painting was originally used by peasants to decorate the whitewashed walls and interiors of their simple dwellings, as well as furniture, kitchenware and other household items made of wood. The most common motifs were flowers and berries as well as symbolic figures of birds, animals and people. A peculiar element of this tradition was the use of fine brushes made of cat hair, which created the characteristic profusion of ever-so-delicate brushstrokes you can see here.

For a long time, Petrykivka painting remained a local folk craft that was passed down from generation to generation without gaining much recognition as an art form. The genre was on the verge of disappearing when, in 1936, a Petrykivka school teacher opened a school of decorative arts and invited one of the few remaining practitioners to train future artists. Gradually, qualified professionals became guardians of this way of painting.

Olena Skytsiuk's background as a Petrykivka painter combines a formal education received from the Lviv National Academy of Arts with her own family tradition. Her mother came from Petrykivka and was a prominent painter whose artworks would be presented as state gifts to foreign dignitaries. Now Olena works in the same genre, creating decorative images bursting with color and swirls of lively details. Compared to traditional paintings, dominated by red, yellow and green, Olena's color scheme can be described as more sophisticated due to the abundance of shades used in her compositions. In this Dayspring cover design, the lush florals look drenched in sunlight, as if each color was transformed into a brighter, more stunning version of its usual self.

No artistic tradition can remain completely unchanged over time, but an artist can honor its essence even in contemporary settings. Due to the talents of masters like Olena Skytsiuk, the Petrykivka style of painting remains a vibrant, distinct form of folk art inspired by a relentless appreciation of the sumptuous Ukrainian nature.

SPECIFICATIONS
Number of pieces: 1000 pieces and a poster with the entire motif
Finished size: 50 x 68 cm
Special features: Changing colors and glitter
Age: +12 years