There’s something exceptionally endearing about Yelena Bryksenkova’s illustrations. Painted using gouache paints and colored pencils that add some detail work, her ideas stem from reading, spending ample time with art and nature, and doing lots of what Virginia Woolf called “street haunting”.
Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, growing up in Cleveland, and studying illustration at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore and the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, Czech Republic, she now resides in Los Angeles where she works as a freelance illustrator and fine artist.
“My small pen and acryla gouache paintings are inspired by my love of home and the comfort of everyday objects, as well as more magical, mysterious and melancholy themes,” she writes on her website, adding that the art and literature of Russia’s Silver Age has been a tremendous influence on me. “Also Indian miniature painting, Persian royal portraiture, Pre-Raphaelite photography, Eastern European folk art. For inspiration I often look to French and Russian Impressionism; I will never get tired of paintings of quiet repose, everyday moments, women brushing their hair, reading, arranging flowers, drinking tea, lost in their private thoughts and surrounded by cherished objects. Too many beautiful things to name, basically I’m always living under the spell of something or other.”
With more than 50k followers on Instagram and a list of selected clients that includes Anthropologie, ESPN, The New York Times, and Urban Outfitters, people are equally charmed by her work. Take a look for yourself:
