Two Original Watercolours from Artist Leda Prytuluk-Althoff
As part of our On-line Auction program, Shumka is excited to offer two original watercolours from artist – and Shumka alumnist – Leda Prytuluk-Althoff.
We are so thankful to Leda for her generosity which will help to sustain artistic excellence and Shumka’s ongoing educational outreach efforts. Monies raised will also provide vital support to help us plan and prepare for the future in these uncertain times.
Leda Prytuluk-Althoff
Watercolour Artist
Born in Edmonton, Alberta on September 17, 1968, Leda has always enjoyed expressing herself through the arts: music, drawing and dancing. During her childhood she developed a deep appreciation of Ukrainian arts and culture. Her family ties to Europe and an active participation in the Ukrainian Canadian community have encouraged Leda to experience and express her Ukrainian ethnicity in a vibrant, unique way. She was a member of the Shumka Dancers from 1986-1995, performing in Ukraine and Russia during the summer of 1990 and participating in two tours across Canada in 1991 and 1995. Inspired by her dance experience, Leda completed a painting for Shumka titled “The Four Seasons” as well as a set of prints called “Hopak”. In 2001 she had a public showing of numerous watercolours depicting her personal interpretation of the pagan theme “Rusalka”.
Leda began her studies in French at the age of 12 and received an Education Degree from the Faculté Saint-Jean, University of Alberta, in 1988. After teaching French immersion for four years, she left for Quebec City and completed a Visual Arts Degree and Certificate of Art History at the University of Laval. Her 9 years of experience in Quebec enriched her understanding of visual arts and allowed her to experiment with different styles, techniques and mediums in her work.
Leda enjoys travelling and met her husband in Germany in 2003. She now lives in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia, with her husband and two children. Bochum has had a close partnership with the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk since 1987. Through artistic and educational exchanges, residents of the two cities have maintained close contact. Lasting friendships have formed throughout their many years of partnership. The war in Donbas has changed the way Bochum is able to help her sister city, but humanitarian aid and fundraising continue to reach the people living in Donetsk as well as the internally displaced people presently living in government controlled areas. Leda is now an active member of the Bochum-Donetsk Association and enjoys volunteering her time to help the citizens of eastern Ukraine.
Sunflower (Sonyashnyk)
Medium: Watercolour on paper — 26″ x 14″
Professionally framed
Artist’s Description
The sunflower is the symbol of solar energy, the vigor of life, well-being, fertility, and unity. In the same way a sunflower follows the sun, we must treasure in thoughts, words, and deeds, the motherland of Ukraine.
Value
$875
The Colour of Shattered Light
Medium: Watercolour on paper — 26″ x 18.5″
Professionally framed
Artist’s Description
This painting was inspired by the events following the “Revolution of Dignity” at Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv, 2014. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula and then occupied territory in the Eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The four horizontal layers represent the four seasons and the ongoing cycle of life.
Spring — rebirth of the Ukrainian nation and renewed pride in being Ukrainian
Summer — Donetsk is also known as the “City of a Million Roses”- each rose representing one of the million citizens of Donetsk
Autumn — defending the Ukrainian nation and our basic right to be Ukrainian
Winter — the colour of emotion when the light of hope suddenly changes
Value
$1200
A tax receipt will be issued for a portion of the purchase price based on CRA regulations.
