Despite the cold relationship between the United States and Russian governments, the cultural exchange between the countries never stopped. One of the bright contributions to the process of mutual understanding was the how-to-book, “Decorative Painting Zhostovo Style,” by Heather Redick, a Canadian artist.
The book was published by North Light Books in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1999. Copies are available on www.amazon.com.
There is such a tiny quantity of books dedicated to Russian folk art in the United States. “Decorative Painting Zhostovo Style” is a rare and successful attempt to provide step-by-step instructions on Russian folk-art painting for English-speaking audiences of the North American continent.
The book opens the treasure chest of the mysterious Russian soul expressed in Zhostovo folk art.
Zhostovo style is named after the village of Zhostovo in the Moscow region, Russia, where it was born. A Russian peasant, Ossip Vishnyakov, opened a business in the production of metal lacquered trays with lavish floral paintings on them in 1825. The business flourished because tea drinking became popular in Russia at that time. The colorful trays were extremely useful in serving tea.
Zhostovo’s painting evolved into an established, recognizable style through the centuries. It is currently associated with the Zhostovo Factory of Decorative Painting.
Redick traveled to Russia in the 1980s, where she admired Zhostovo hand-painted trays.
“But I had no idea at that time that I would become a painter/artist later,” she says.
When Zhostovo masters, Boris Grafov and Larissa Dyatlova, came to teach free hand painting to the United States, Redick took their classes. Then, she started to propagate the Zhostovo style and conducted workshops in Canada, the United States, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Venezuela, and Portugal, according to the “Decorative Painting Zhostovo Style” premise.
The book starts with an explanation of the basics of which supplies someone needs for the projects, how to load a brush with paints, and how to do surface preparation.
Chapter three is dedicated to the demonstration of several types of strokes, which are keys to success in studying Zhostovo style. Redick shows how to do a flat stroke, a comma stroke, an “S” stroke, a liner brushstroke, and others.
Zhostovo metal trays are traditionally decorated with flowers. Redick uncovers secrets on how to paint chrysanthemums, daisies, poppies, apple blossoms, gardenias, and roses. Several pages of the book show techniques for painting fruits and berries, such as an apple, a cherry, a peach, a plum, and grapes.
Creating decorative borders in Zhostovo style is a titanically delicate job. Redick found an uncomplicated way to explain how to paint borders in chapter eight of the book. Drawing the design before the painting, and repetitive small strokes and dots transform the vast and dark space of the borders into a masterpiece.
The last chapters of “Decorative Painting Zhostovo Style” are instructions on how to create absolutely stunning decorative pieces with Zhostovo style. These are projects on applying Zhostovo designs on a birdhouse, a cache box, a wedding cake box, a round tray with a glass insert, a potpourri box, and a glass ornament. The book is supplied with patterns that can be transferred onto the surfaces prepared for painting.
Russian classical writer who lived in the 19th century, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, said, “Beauty will save the world.”
“Decorative Painting Zhostovo Style” is on a mission to preserve the beauty of the world in a live, breathing moment of the Russian folk painting style, which became a property of artists in many countries on the planet.
