The horse, bison and stag paintings
 My horse, bison, and stag paintings begin with color—persimmon, claret, crimson, cinnabar, rust, and garnet; amber, icterine, and ochre; and brushstrokes of plum, violet, cerulean, and charcoal. I apply these colors in thick impasto layers to evoke emotion, transforming the images into visual journeys of discovery.

The paintings are inspired by my travels along the Silk Routes where I researched ancient cave paintings. The animal imagery found in these ancient sites resonates with primal connections and symbolic depth, evoking the origins of human creativity, abstraction, and communication. My paintings are also informed by the rectangle, and other geometric shapes that I use to define the bodies of the animals. This combination of ancient animal imagery with abstract shapes opens an edgy space where I explore the correspondences between ancient art and the contemporary imagination. Positioned on the edge of abstraction, the finished paintings can be interpreted as animal, landscape, abstraction, or still life, allowing for multiple readings.

As I work on these paintings, I am reminded that these creatures have been with us for a long time. They have accompanied us on our collective, human journey from the caves to the present, and still enter our imagination, imbuing us with a sense of wonder, power, and delight.

The paintings on plaster 
My paintings on plaster mark a shift from traditional fresco techniques to a versatile, tactile medium that offers an immersive, sensory experience, echoing the connections between the ancient artists and the natural world.

While featuring many of the same animal and figural subjects as my oil paintings, the plaster paintings add a new dimension with the combination of paint and marble dust on layers of Venetian plaster. Drawings, incised marks, and textual references embedded within the strata-like surface become integral to the final image. Brushstrokes act as stylistic fingerprints, conveying emotion, and guiding the viewer's eye throughout the painting. The multi-dimensional layers interact with light differently throughout the day, making the painting a source of shifting perceptions.

Valentina DuBasky
New York, NY,  2026