"I was first introduced to art while I was in the womb," Dasha says. "My mother developed a 'sudden craving' (like other women crave pickles) to paint with great intent and skill in her last month of pregnancy. She had never painted before. And after she gave birth to me, she never painted again!
"When I was five," Dasha continued, "my Grandpa encouraged me to paint enough pieces to fill a wall. My entire family gathered together to preview my collection and hear my stories about each painting. It was such a rewarding and fulfilling experience that I knew at once that art was my life's quest."
The impressions and experiences Dasha had with life up to that time, growing up in a nurturing family, in an idealized life, still influence her work today as if, in some real sense, she is able to channel her personality across time. As a result, her paintings shine with a kaleidoscope of fresh mosaical colors--reds, greens and sparkling golds--that capture the fresh beauty and vibrant dreams of childhood and innocence.
Dasha uses color to drench her canvasses and then wields her brushes with bold, imprecive strokes, giving a fascinating depth and dimensionality to her paintings. Influenced by a visit to San Sofia in Istanbul, where the mustard-colored walls applied by restorers after the original golden mosaics had fallen away are themselves peeling, Dasha creates textures from layers of gold, silver and copper leaf, wires and other metallic materials that will connect emotionally with those who long to journey to exotic, foreign lands. |
