Skies fascinate artist Iryna Manukovska. They have been her constant and the place to find the answer. Captivated by their mysticism and movement, she renders patterns, colors, and shapes displayed by skies all over the world. Just as there is no escaping life’s challenges, there is no escaping the sky’s influence. The sky must be accepted. The sky is life.

Manukovska works only in oil paint, applying it to her canvases in thick impasto layers using brushes, palette knives, and even her fingers. Make sculptured details you want to interact with. Her lush and textured surfaces invite touch. Structured like a cloud and building outwards, their thickness reveals a richness of hue that changes with the light of the sky. Inspired by Monet, Picasso, and Ayvazovsky, the paintings transplant the sky’s energy onto canvas. The work is both contemporary and abstract. Its classic materials mean legacy to the artist—a legacy of respect to families and roots, but also a legacy of developing something new.

Manukovska’s process begins when bother: an unsolvable question or conundrum. Unable to reason her way to an explanation, she looks to the sky for clues. The shapes, colors, and motions of clouds are a catalyst for insight and creativity. Her method is a meditation where the sky manifests a solution. Dawns and sunsets from the world over convey peace, joy…and answers. That someone else could similarly feel the sky’s power and calm when viewing her paintings encourages her. Transformation is the goal—the right mood makes anything manageable. Manukovska's conviction is that textures and colors can spark viewers to find their own answers. Her paintings are color therapy and pure energy for those who see them. The artist gathers tints and shades from rain and cloud in Oslo, foggy haze in London, skyscraper reflections in Toronto and Seattle, and blue seas in Greece and Cyprus. Her skies bring showers, mist, mirage, and calm. They are Manukovska’s emblem. 

For Manukovska, the sky encapsulates life. Birth is a blue summer sky. Growth and aging—with their questions, challenges, and responsibilities—are skies held in storms. She discerns life-affirming moments in their motion and form. The wind plays with clouds. The sun plays with color. All are action, movement, and energy. Life beneath such a panorama bequeaths the courage to act and to dare. These paintings are gateways to possibility. Their mission is to capture the energy and inspiration of all that Iryna Manukovska sees in a creation revealed in the sky.

Dive into the sky inspiration