Art born from lockdown on display in The Nook

By Nathan Barcio
Resident artist Anna Shepilo is currently displaying her work in The Nook at Gibraltar Arts and Crafts.
Gibraltar Arts and Crafts is located at Casemates, and displays the work of local artists, providing them with a platform to showcase their art to the public.

Mrs Shepilo’s vibrant oil paintings will be on show at the Nook for a month.

The paintings present a variety of warm and cold colours, landscapes, seascapes, flowers, animals and several scenes of nature.

Mrs Shepilo used to be an interior designer in the past and has always had a creative spark and been involved with art, but never took on painting until recently.

After both Mrs Shepilo and her husband were bored over the past year and a half during local lockdowns, they both decided to pick up new hobbies to pass time.

Mrs Shepilo decided to start drawing and create art whilst her husband learned to play a variety of musical instruments.

As she began to draw and experiment through art, Mrs Shepilo felt that it was a “funny ambition”, but her husband spotted her talents which could not be ignored so he motivated her to venture into creating art.

Mrs Shepilo said that oil paintings are her preferred style of art, a style which she thoroughly enjoys and now has on display at the Nook for members of the public to view and enjoy.

An extensive social media presence allowed Mrs Shepilo and her work to receive attention and eventually be placed on display.

Having her work on display at the Nook made Mrs Shepilo feel “excited” and “proud” as her work would be showcased to a wider audience.

Mrs Shepilo has received lots of support from her family who feel “very proud” of her and the journey she is undergoing as an artist.

“I like landscape and Seascapes; I like little stories that create sense in a picture, that’s why I painted the fishing scene”, she said when talking about her work.

She added that “every picture has a little story”, something which motivates her when painting.

Mrs Shepilo wants to keep undertaking art as a hobby and create new collections to create even more stories and explore her creativity.

She added that the idea of small animals is appealing to her and is something she would like to work on in the future.

She also gave advice to young aspiring artists who are hoping to have their work on display.

“Be brave, be confident and try,” she said.

“If you don’t try, you don’t know.”