Watercolour painting: Ideas and learning through the lens of individual experience

Yuliy Skakandi

Article Vol. 25, No. 1, 2025

Watercolour painting: Ideas and learning through the lens of individual experience

Yuliy Skakandi

Received 31.01.2025 Revised 02.06.2025 Accepted 30.06.2025 Pages 35–42 517 Views

Abstract

A key factor in the modernisation of education in Ukraine is the study, preservation, and implementation of effective and rational pedagogical experience – an experience that has not only been realised in the teaching and upbringing of the younger generation, but also possesses the potential to serve as a model for future educational practice. This research aimed to uncover the secrets of technical approaches that can captivate young people and contribute to the further development of visual arts techniques. The article focused on the artist’s path to mastering the use of watercolour, highlighting the importance of children’s art studios, which nurtured creative interest, instilled an appreciation of beauty in everyday surroundings, and developed practical painting skills. Attention was also given to the figure of Zoltan Bakonii, a renowned art educator in Transcarpathia and beyond. His name and activities in the minds of contemporaries from the middle and older generations, former students, were closely intertwined with the names of the luminaries of the Transcarpathian school of painting. Yosyp Bokshai played a significant role in popularising the remarkable achievements of the visual arts studio, which contributed to the upbringing of several generations of admirers and artists, who joined the ranks of the Transcarpathian painting school. The artistic-pedagogical system of Zoltan Bakonii has withstood the test of time, proven and demonstrated its effectiveness, and continued to exist through the efforts of its followers. This system was modernised and enhanced with creative innovations, fulfilling a crucial social role in nurturing well-rounded individuals and responsible citizens within new socio-historical contexts. Given the rise of digital technologies and their widespread use among young people, there has been a noticeable decline in interest in classical painting techniques. The practical value of the research lies in the emphasis on the specifics of working with demanding equipment, which requires technical proficiency and a deep understanding of composition, selection, and generalisation

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Keywords

painting school; aquarelle; art; visual arts studio; art institutions

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Skakandi, Yu. (2025). Watercolour painting: Ideas and learning through the lens of individual experience. Notes on Art Criticism, 25(1), 35-42. https://doi.org/10.63009/noac/1.2025.35

References

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Babenko, L. (2001). Ukrainian fine art. Kirovohrad: KDPU.
Badyak, V. (1990). Artistic culture in the Western regions of Ukraine. Bulletin of Lviv State Institute of Applied and Decorative Arts, 89.
Bakoniy, Z. (1952). Among young artists. Youth of Transcarpathian, 4.
Bakoniy, Z. (1958). Valuable gifts for the best students. Soviet Transcarpathian, 2.
Baltazyuk, I. (2022). Artistic symbol in the painting of Kyiv artists of the beginning of the 21^st century: Context, typology, artistic and stylistic features. (Doctoral dissertation, National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture, Kyiv, Ukraine).
Baranovska, A. (2024). Realistic painting of the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries: Traditions and transformations. (Doctoral dissertation, National Academy of Culture and Arts Management, Kyiv, Ukraine).
Batalia, I. (2020). Exercises and experiments at the initial stage of learning watercolour painting techniques in art schools. In Development of creative competence of students of art schools. From traditions to innovations: Materials of all-Ukrainian science and practice conference (pp. 154-159). Kherson: Hraphika.
Chernyavskyi, B. (2019). Methodology of training future teachers of fine art of design with the use of information and communication technologies. (PhD dissertation, Mykhailo Boychuk Kyiv State Academy of Decorative and Applied Arts and Design, Kyiv, Ukraine).
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Grigorieva, V. (2021). The use of the latest watercolor materials in the artistic training of architects. In The state, problems and prospects of the development of modern cities: Materials of the International science and practice conference (pp. 59-61). Odesa: ODABA.
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Kashshai, O. (2021). Cultural creativity of Anton Kashshai against the background of Transcarpathian art school. (PhD dissertation, Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, Kyiv, Ukraine).
Lee, S. (2021). Formation of creative competence of future specialists in decorative and applied art in institutions of higher education. (Doctoral dissertation, State Institution “Luhansk National University named after Taras Shevchenko”, Starobilsk, Ukraine).
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Skakandi, Yu. (2023). From creative experience: A study of watercolour painting. Education in Transcarpathia, 31, 222-228.
Varvarinets, M. (1959). Awards for the young. Soviet Transcarpathia, 4.
Veligura, N. (2018). Traditions and innovations in watercolour painting in the artistic culture of Ukraine of the 20^th-early 21^st centuries. (PhD dissertation, National Academy of Culture and Arts Management, Kyiv, Ukraine).
Voloshchuk, A. (2009). Development of children’s creative abilities through open-air excursions (from the experience of the teacher-artist Zoltan Bakoniy). Youth and Market, 6, 96-101.
Yur, M. (2021). Ukrainian painting of the 19^th-early 21^st century: The national, conventional, and authorial models. (Doctoral thesis, Institute of Contemporary Art Problems of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine).

[1] Antonovych, Ye. (1997). Aesthetic education of teenagers by means of folk art. (PhD dissertation, Vasyl Stefanyk Prykarpattia University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine).

[2] Babenko, L. (2001). Ukrainian fine art. Kirovohrad: KDPU.

[3] Badyak, V. (1990). Artistic culture in the Western regions of Ukraine. Bulletin of Lviv State Institute of Applied and Decorative Arts, 89.

[4] Bakoniy, Z. (1952). Among young artists. Youth of Transcarpathian, 4.

[5] Bakoniy, Z. (1958). Valuable gifts for the best students. Soviet Transcarpathian, 2.

[6] Baltazyuk, I. (2022). Artistic symbol in the painting of Kyiv artists of the beginning of the 21^st century: Context, typology, artistic and stylistic features. (Doctoral dissertation, National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture, Kyiv, Ukraine).

[7] Baranovska, A. (2024). Realistic painting of the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries: Traditions and transformations. (Doctoral dissertation, National Academy of Culture and Arts Management, Kyiv, Ukraine).

[8] Batalia, I. (2020). Exercises and experiments at the initial stage of learning watercolour painting techniques in art schools. In Development of creative competence of students of art schools. From traditions to innovations: Materials of all-Ukrainian science and practice conference (pp. 154-159). Kherson: Hraphika.

[9] Chernyavskyi, B. (2019). Methodology of training future teachers of fine art of design with the use of information and communication technologies. (PhD dissertation, Mykhailo Boychuk Kyiv State Academy of Decorative and Applied Arts and Design, Kyiv, Ukraine).

[10] Fernández, D.M.M. (2024). Prospective research in the field of teaching creative skills to artificial intelligence. Interdisciplinary Cultural and Humanities Review, 3(1), 34-45. doi: 10.59214/cultural/1.2024.34.

[11] Gomonnai, V., Rosul, V., & Talapkanych, M. (1997). School and education in Transcarpathia. Uzhgorod: Self-Supporting Editorial and Publishing House from the Transcarpathian Committee on Press and Information.

[12] Grigorieva, V. (2021). The use of the latest watercolor materials in the artistic training of architects. In The state, problems and prospects of the development of modern cities: Materials of the International science and practice conference (pp. 59-61). Odesa: ODABA.

[13] Ilnytska, L. (2022). Considering the foreign experience of using watercolor techniques in the process of studying the “color science” course. Problems of the Modern Textbook, 28, 62-70. doi: 10.32405/2411-1309-2022-28-62-70.

[14] Kashshai, O. (2021). Cultural creativity of Anton Kashshai against the background of Transcarpathian art school. (PhD dissertation, Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, Kyiv, Ukraine).

[15] Lee, S. (2021). Formation of creative competence of future specialists in decorative and applied art in institutions of higher education. (Doctoral dissertation, State Institution “Luhansk National University named after Taras Shevchenko”, Starobilsk, Ukraine).

[16] Mandra, N. (2021). Concepts of art studies in the system of culture: Typology of functional influences. Artistic Culture. Topical Issues, 17(2), 84-91. doi: 10.31500/1992-5514.17(2).2021.247975.

[17] Masol, L. (2006). General art education: Theory and practice. Kyiv: Promin.

[18] Personal archive of Z. Bakoniy. (1952). F. II. Methodical developments and reports by Z. Bakoniy. Spr. 56.

[19] Skakandi, Yu. (2023). From creative experience: A study of watercolour painting. Education in Transcarpathia, 31, 222-228.

[20] Varvarinets, M. (1959). Awards for the young. Soviet Transcarpathia, 4.

[21] Veligura, N. (2018). Traditions and innovations in watercolour painting in the artistic culture of Ukraine of the 20^th-early 21^st centuries. (PhD dissertation, National Academy of Culture and Arts Management, Kyiv, Ukraine).

[22] Voloshchuk, A. (2009). Development of children’s creative abilities through open-air excursions (from the experience of the teacher-artist Zoltan Bakoniy). Youth and Market, 6, 96-101.

[23] Yur, M. (2021). Ukrainian painting of the 19^th-early 21^st century: The national, conventional, and authorial models. (Doctoral thesis, Institute of Contemporary Art Problems of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine).