This is how she sees it. The Kaluga artist paints cityscapes, which she calls "kind pictures."
Private houses and typical panel houses, even traffic jams appear in the drawings Sasha Leonova alive and convey the atmosphere of this or that corner of Kaluga.
"If you feel warmth about a Khrushchev-era apartment, it comes through in the pictures. When you're drawing and want to highlight certain individual moments, you peer into the windows. Each one has its own life: somewhere, people are cooking dinner, somewhere, arguing, somewhere, making up, playing with the children. And the curtains are hung differently. Nothing is identical or typical." claims Leonova.
She started drawing while walking with her children, the youngest of whom is five months old. She works with fineliner and markers. She says that "everything starts with the details"—for example, a button has come loose on her grandmother's clothing and is hanging by a thread. Leonova looks around to see if there are any other interesting details, and if she can put the composition together. If so, she places the stroller next to her and sits down to draw.
Passersby and residents of the houses she captures on paper react to her work in different ways: some don't notice, while others share their phone numbers and ask her to send them a photo of the painting she painted of their house.
In many drawings the main "characters" are trees.
“I love looking at trees. Every city has its own,” explains Leonova. — They characterize our city. And in my drawing, it's not a tree by a house, but a house by a tree. Because the image of the tree reveals the owners.".
Leonova dreams of releasing her work as small 10x15 postcards. In the meantime, she's organized an exhibition of her work at a local coffee shop.
Photo: KP40.RU
