Beginning of the End

Large statement still life (vanitas) featuring a waratah, classical bust and symbolic objects — painted in bold cobalt blues and deep reds on a warm neutral ground.
Acrylic on deep-edge canvas, ready to hang, signed and supplied with a certificate of authenticity.
Size: 152 × 122 cm. Unframed (deep edge suits hanging unframed or framing to taste).

Beginning of The End is a large-scale, metaphorical vanitas still life responding to the war between two neighboring countries and the way conflict invades ordinary life while the full truth remains controlled.

At the centre, the red waratah carries a double message. It can be read as a future celebration of peace—a bloom that insists on life continuing—but also as hearts torn open by conflict, bleeding with grief. The petals become wounds; the colour becomes pain.

Partly concealed behind the foliage, a skull sits like a shadow in the room: an unambiguous reminder that death is always present in war, even when it is pushed to the background of public conversation. Nearby, a female candle holder (a small standing figure) becomes a quiet monument to those left behind—mothers, wives, sisters—whose loss doesn’t end when the headlines move on.

On the right, the cold, marble-like head of the commander Gattamelata rests on a book with golden-edged pages. This pairing suggests the weight of authority over knowledge: how history is polished, edited, and presented; how inconvenient truths can be buried under power, status, and official narratives. Yet the painting holds space for resistance: two clay whistles sit as symbols of brave individuals who speak out, raising an alarm and refusing silence even when the cost is high.

Smaller objects add quieter layers. A sea shell (a portable “home”) speaks of displacement, exile, and the distant sound of belonging—the way people carry the memory of home when home is unsafe or unreachable. Tiny glass marbles catch the light like fragile planets: they can be read as childhood and innocence interrupted, but also as hope and chance—small, easily lost things that still shine.
Painted in professional acrylic with a modern impressionist sensibility, this work balances lush colour and symbolism—beauty and brutality sharing the same table—because that is what war does: it changes the meaning of everything.

Follow

Hi, I’m Valentyna Crane — a contemporary impressionist landscape painter based in Canberra. I paint the feeling of a place: changing light, shifting atmosphere, and that sense of moving air that makes a landscape come alive.

My art journey began in Crimea, Ukraine, where I trained at the Samokish College of Fine Arts, and later completed a Master’s degree in Architecture and Landscape Design at V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University. Even earlier, my foundation was shaped by formal training at the Fine Arts School for children in Simferopol, where I studied drawing, composition, sculpture, decorative arts, and traditional painting techniques.

That classical background still supports my work today — strong structure and confident draftsmanship — but I paint with freedom: vibrant colour, luminous light, and expressive brushstrokes. My influences stretch from the Russian masters (like Repin) to the colour and light of Cézanne and Monet.

Now in Australia, I’m endlessly inspired by Canberra’s crisp air, open skies, and bush textures. I love creating paintings that feel uplifting and alive — pieces you’ll keep noticing and enjoying as you live with them.

My purpose is simple: to bring more light and beauty into the world, and to share that feeling with the people who connect with my work. If you have any questions, or you’d like to discuss a commission, I’d love to hear from you.