ARTIST STATEMENT
As an artist, I am drawn to the quiet narratives woven into everyday life. Inspired by nature, the meaningful memories entrusted to me by my customers, and the ways people shape meaning through creativity, I strive to reveal and preserve often-overlooked moments and how they shape our relationships with one another and the natural world.
Ultimately, my goal is to encourage conversation and evoke empathy through my artwork, whether it is a watercolor commission, a public art installation, or an illustration. To achieve this, my creative process begins with listening to and understanding personal stories or researching the scientific and historical context behind each subject.
Watercolor is my preferred medium because it brings a sense of unpredictability and transience to my work. Its fluidity mirrors life's fragile and ever-changing nature, allowing each painting to evolve in unexpected ways.
ARTIST BIO
Irina is a Sammamish, WA–based watercolor artist. From an early age, she was passionate about painting, although she began her formal art education at the age of 28. She earned an MS degree in Natural Resources and Environment in 2001 and later graduated from a private art school.
After that, Irina continued her self-directed learning in figure drawing, portraiture, calligraphy, oils along with improving in watercolors. To strengthen a visual storytelling she took part in several illustration challenges organized by PB illustrators and authors.
While expending her technical skills, she began her career as a commissioned artist in 2019, creating portraits that preserved cherished memories entrusted by her customers.
Since 2024, Irina has been collaborating with the Karin Kirkland School of Dance in Kirkland, WA, creating commissioned dancer portraits and presenting her work during performances at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, WA. Beginning in 2025, she has also been volunteering at the VALA Art Center in Redmond, WA.
Exhibition experience since 2017. Milestones are:
Solo Exhibitions
2026 - Solo Exhibition, Theater 33, Bellevue, Wa
2024 - Solo Exhibition, Cheryl Sallee Gallery, Auburn, WA (January–March)
Group Exhibitions
2026 - Recycled Dreams, VALA Art Center, Redmond, WA
2026 — Winter Show of Small Works and Miniatures, Parklane Gallery, Kirkland,WA
2025 — Winter Show of Small Works and Miniatures, Parklane Gallery, Kirkland,WA
2025 — Plein Air Views of Washington, Magnuson Park Gallery, Seattle, WA (May)
2025 — Art Is Me, Art Is Us, VALA Art Center, Redmond, WA (April–May)
2025 — Environmental Ties II, Magnuson Park Gallery, Seattle, WA (March–April)
2025 — Miniature Show, Parklane Gallery, Kirkland, WA (Summer)
2024 — Winter Show of Small Works and Miniatures, Parklane Gallery, Kirkland, WA
2024 — Environmental Ties, Magnuson Park Gallery, Seattle, WA
2024 — Miniature Show, Parklane Gallery, Kirkland, WA (Summer)
2024 — Crow and Raven, Third Annual Exhibition, Red Sky Gallery, Bothell, WA (Autumn)
2023 — Crow and Raven, Third Annual Exhibition, Red Sky Gallery, Bothell, WA (Autumn)
2022 — Elemental (Exhibition-Competition), Speedball Art & Iredell Arts Council, NC (August)
2021 — Every Leaf Speaks Bliss To Me, SCVWS Member Fall Show, USA
2021 — SCVWS 53rd Annual Member Show, California
2018 — Online Exhibition, Bauhaus Prairie Art Gallery, USA ( honorable mention and two noteworthy)
2017 — Online Exhibition-Competition, Bauhaus Prairie Art Gallery, USA (4th place and two noteworthy)