Sometimes people take a long time to do this. At the same time, there are cases when one push is enough for the desire for creative realization to awaken, turning into the meaning of life.
Recently, visitors and readers of the Central City Library named after M.L. Kropyvnytskyi have the opportunity to enjoy the paintings of the Mykolaiv doctor - traumatologist and talented artist in one person - Valentyn Hryhorovych Smagin.
He subtly feels every breath of the world around him. Before an ordinary canvas in his skillful hands begins to live, becomes a painting, Valentyn Hryhorovych will work his magic next on it for several months. In fact, all his free time, which is very little in the busy schedule of a traumatologist.
"Something from photographs, something from memory. Something from nature. There is no specially prepared scheme here. I draw my inner state, my tastes, my sense of life. The main thing is that I draw for myself. Now, perhaps, I do this for the audience. And so from the beginning I tried to get pleasure from the process and its result. And now it is for others too," shares Valentyn Hryhorovych.
For 47 years, Valentyn Smagin has been helping people. He came to Mykolaiv in 1972 after graduating from the Kyiv Medical Institute. And all this time he has remained devoted to his only, native institution – the emergency medical care hospital. And he has been fond of drawing since childhood. And he had such a life goal. But fate decreed otherwise. His Majesty Chance pushed him to try his hand at painting already at a respectable age.
"My patient pushed me to do this. She is an artist. I did the operation on her. We talked a lot during the operation. And I was told that age was not a problem. And it's possible to start at any age. I am very grateful to her for that. Her name is Olha Fedorchenko," the artist recalls.
Since then it began. Work in the hospital was during the main hours, and leisure time was at the easel. Today, Valentyn Smagin's collection includes about 70 works. The first personal exhibition took place in the capital a few months ago at the State Scientific Medical Library. For the citizens of Mykolaiv and guests of the Hero City - his talent is revealed by the Central City Library named after M.L. Kropyvnytskyi.
"In fact, this "bridge" from Mykolaiv to Kyiv and from Kyiv to Mykolaiv was built by another creative person - the poetess Larysa Matveeva. She saw the works of Valentyn Hryhorovych in Kyiv in the library, and told us about him. We found him and here is the result," notes Inha Khorzhevska, director of the Central City Library named after M.L. Kropyvnytskyi.
His paintings arouse the interest of the audience, none of the works leaves anyone indifferent. The vast majority are landscapes. The artist sees the picturesque corners of Ukraine as so different and unique. They are distinguished by their perfection and depth of thought. The author does not stop there. Valentyn Hryhorovych is in search of both new forms and new plots.
