Gary J. Kirkpatrick Art and Travel Blog
Posting original art
These are my paintings made from our visit to Kiev several years ago. The determination to be democratically ruled and independent was obvious from its extensive exhibit of the 2014 uprising. Its architecture is a world treasure. I can only hope that they come out on top of this terrible war with the Russian effort to go after civilians. This effort is another affirmation to its people that it must never again be part of Russia.
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Kiev is a beautiful city populated by an energetic and friendly people. What Putin is doing is a crime against the people and their heritage.
Donate to World Central Kitchens, a great organization, helping feed Ukrainian refugees. https://donate.wck.org/give/394390#!/donation/checkout
Pechersk Lavra is also called the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves. It is an Orthodox Christian monastery located on the cliffs overlooking the Dnieper River in Kiev. There are extensive caves which were occupied by monks. There are beautiful church domes.
Building in Kiev, digital painting
Saint Sofia, dating from the 11th century, is one of the most important churches of Kiev. It is named after the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, an amazing structure dating from the 3rd century Roman period, when Istanbul was called Constantinople after the Roman emperor Constantine. The buildings bear no resemblance to one another, however. Saint Sofia’s origin is in the Kieven Rus period, when the region was governed by a loose federations of Slavic and Finnish people. It has the impressive golden domes you find in Poland and Russia. The art decorating the interior has the same Byzantine look as well.
Kiev’s architecture is impressive, largely from the 19th and early 20th with some Soviet Russia era contributions. The city is built on hills, and on cliffs overlooking the Dnieper River. This allows great views of the rooftops as you walk about.
