A fence surrounding an old abandoned summer house is leaning. Its uneven wooden planks are losing paint. What is so poetic about this sight? I wonder if this would inspire a plein air artist. But she came there on those few October days. Did she like a malachite shade of the copper-green paint that had once covered the fence or how the residue of the green colour set off the ochre tones of the autumn garden in the background? Or the symbolism of a random scene steeped in pensiveness? These are ruins, shambles to say the least — a scrap heap really. On her canvas, however, this becomes what a Russian poet Igor Severyanin called the mundane poetry a country life…
…A bunch of meadow flowers has been casually stuck into a white milk jug. Noone was going to tinker with this small bouquet to make it look more attractive. Among the flowers, one finds weed sprigs, bone-like straw sticks, unwanted small blades of grass. But the artwork born within a mere half-hour gives you a feeling of serenity. My grandad, who lived in a village and was a gifted man, but a binger, would probably say, “It’s like pouring anointing oil on one’s soul…”
The neighbours were dismantling a half rotten house. “Do you want the wood left of the porch? It is still good,” they asked. “Of course we do.” So what has come of it? Against the pure dark-green backdrop in a coarse chinky surrounding, vegetables for cooking borscht are nicely nestled. There is a large ladle to complete the picture. But what is this? The handle of the ladle is sticking out, which is wooden, old and grey (it must have been made of the wood left of the dismantled summer house). Quite a find! What we see is more than beetroots and cabbages, it is an ode to artistic endeavour!..
The artist has created some kind of a distinct world, warmed by a kind glance, lit by a tender light, filled with musical harmony, a world whose child-like innocence is deeply moving. This is a world of inexplicable joy. No, this is not a fantasy world, not an attempt to escape from reality, nor is it a play of imagination or pioneer work, or the outcome of the use of cutting-edge technologies. What we see is nothing out of the ordinary: kitchenware, food, flowers, homes, trees. But these humble things that surround everyone of us appear so special on the small canvases of this inventive and skilled master. This world was created by an amazing artist Natasha Kazakova.
If Natasha were from the world of music, we would safely call her a multi-instrumentalist. She has mastered all techniques and genres. Her faithful assistants are oil, tempera, watercolours, oil pastel, and a pencil. Her characters are fallen leaves on the surface of a river chilled in the November cold, pine trunks glaring in a sunset, shades lying on the snow in the rays of a winter sun, pets, pebbles, toys. And there go without is the bevy of bubbles in your fresh coffee. Bubbles, sweet cherries, and a dog’s nose. They are so authentic! One feels like watching them forever.
A landscape and a still life seem to be Natasha’s most common genres. Her domestic workshop contains embroidery made from tiny pieces of cloth cut out of old dresses, collages made from bird feathers, and stained glass windows lit up from within. And look at the image of St. Gerasimus of the Jordan with a lion at his feet, painted on wooden boards hammered together! It is nothing short of an icon! Another idea, another experiment… Natasha is an Orthodox artist, and churches in her paintings are the spiritual core of her art, a source of light and faith, rather than just an element of a landscape.
“Mom, why is all our food painted?” ask the kids. Natasha has four children. How does she find time for everything? To be a painter, talent is not enough, you also need diligence, stamina, patience, endurance for hardship, even fearlessness. Try painting for a couple of hours in the freezing cold!
Her favourite place in Moscow is the Apothecary’s Garden, where roses, lilies, and wistarias always meet her. Natasha easily parts with her artworks. Given away as gifts, they adorn friends’ homes and also hospital rooms, speeding up patients’ recovery.
What is her secret? At first it seems the answer is not easy to find. But when one immerses oneself in the wondrous world of a quiet joy, created by by Natasha Kazakova, the answer will surely present itself. The secret lies in a loving brushstroke. Or a stroke of a chalk stick or a pen? Or a soulful stroke of a brush?