Ukrainian artist and folk art guru Mykhailo Dombrovskyi

The range of embroidery kits by Povitrulya includes a special one called “Summer”, which is based on a masterpiece by the renowned Ukrainian artist and folk art guru Mykhailo Dombrovskyi.

The “Kozak Mamai” and “Hoverla” kits fall into this category as well, echoing back to their remarkable prototypes from Dombrovskyi’s portfolio. We are also proud of cooperating with this artist to create our cross-stitch patterns.

Mykhailo was born in Uzhgorod. He was keen on painting since he was a kid. His father Valentyn Dombrovskyi, a well-known artist from Uzhgorod, helped him get the hang of the oil painting technique. During his school years, our famous friend once ran into a problem because he skipped the “Lenin’s lesson”. Thank God, he got away with it back then, as he did many times afterwards.

Mykhailo has an economics degree. He started his education in Ternopil and finished it in Uzhgorod. His passion for painting was too strong, though. Since 1983, he worked at a design workshop based in Chernihiv, where he created wall panels, bas-reliefs, mosaics, and sculptures. At that time, he was constantly busy painting and participated in various exhibitions off and on.

Here’s what Mykhailo wrote about himself: “I have always painted – when at school, on the last sheets of exercise books; when studying at the university to obtain a higher education diploma; and all the time from then onwards”.

Mykhailo’s first exhibition was held when he was 22 years old. Shortly after this event, he was visited by four men wearing “black leather jackets”, who were “politely” and persistently asking him how much time it took to create a painting, with his scared parents witnessing this interrogation in the middle of the night. The thing is, in Soviet times the KGB followed the practice of surveilling the artists who worked on their own rather than obey commands from the officials. 

Mykhailo is the author of the portrait gallery of all rectors of the Nizhyn State University. About 30 portraits are already completed, and a search for the images of several more former rectors is currently underway.

Iconography is one more facet of his talent. Mykhailo has always enjoyed depicting Madonna and Child. He has mastered the canonical technique of iconography and passed all the appropriate rites. He took part in creating a church altar in the village of Zakrynychchya, Vinnytska Oblast, having painted seven icons for it.

Mykhailo also loves doing artwork on large walls. He has done it on about a dozen walls by now.

At this point, Mykhailo is a master folk artist whose artwork is presented at the Exhibition Hall of the Union of Artists of Ukraine.

You can visit his FB profile: https://www.facebook.com/Artdombrow/