Interviewed by Sonja Smaldone
R
afał Walendowski is a talented artist from Poland and he works at Forest Museum in Forest Culture Center in Gołuchów, a picturesque village in Pleszew County, Greater Poland. For years, he has been, and still is, a great lover of Arabian horses whose astonishing beauty he manages to depict and immortalize in drawings and paintings. Watercolor is his favorite painting technique. Taking photos is his second great passion. So, let’s go find out more about him. Hello Rafal. Just to set the scene for our readers, will you please share with us some background to you, your family, and current work at ‘Forest Museum in Forest Culture Center’? I have been living in the picturesque town of Gołuchów, Greater Poland, for 43 years. The place is beautiful, full of greenery and historical monuments. I have been working as an artist at Forest Culture Center in the Museum department for 21 years. Organizing exhibitions and designing publications for the Forestry Museum is my main task. I am very happy with my job; it brings me a lot of satisfactions. I have my own family with my wife Monika and our two daughters: Zosia and Marysia.
Can you talk a little about your formative years as an artist? Have you been trained, and if so from what Institution? Or are you self-taught For 5 years I have been studying at University with a major in Fine Arts. I attended the Faculty of Plastic Education in Kalisz, which is a branch of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. I gained skills in painting, graphics, sculpture and graphic design. In addition, I also got teaching qualifications, but I have never really worked at school. I work more at home, drawing and painting a lot. How did you first get into painting? How would you describe your painting style? I started painting since an early age, I have been very passionate about horse drawing and painting. This is my greatest source of inspiration. I have also been interested in History of Art for years, especially in Realistic painting. My favorite masters are: Juliusz Kossak, Józef Chełmoński, Ludwik Maciąg, Andrzej Patter, Andrzej Novak-Zempliński plus many other horse and landscape painters. I would describe my style as realistic and my favorite techniques are watercolor and pastel. Tell us more about this passion for the Arabian horse. When and where did you first meet an Arabian horse? Why is it your favorite subject to paint? I first saw Arabian horses in the Magazine “Polish Horse”. It used to publish beautiful photos by Zofia Raczkowska, Marian Gadzalski and Urszula Sawicka. First time I could see Arabians by close it was in 1997 at Janów Podlaski Stud. Later, I visited more state studs such as those in Michałów and Białka and,
to this day, I have very good contacts with private breeders of Arabian horses such as: Marcin Witek from Krotoszyn and the Polia Arabians Stud. I was thrilled by their unique beauty and grace, and watching them in motion made me feel “dizzy”. So it could not be otherwise, Arabians had to become the leitmotif of my artistry for life. Is there someone special who has encouraged your work as an artist? If yes, tell us about this person and how they have influenced your path as an artist? This person is Józef Witkowski for sure. He was former visual artist at Forest Culture Center in Gołuchów and an amateur painter who ran an Art Club for children where I could learn new interesting art techniques. In the past few years, I have mainly been influenced by artists - educators from my university such as: Prof. Andrzej Niekrasz, Prof. Andrzej Nawrot and Jan Krzysztof Hrycek. Very important to me was the person of Prof. Ludwik Maciąg, an excellent horse painter with whom I had the pleasure to work outdoors at the Arabian horse stud in Korfowe. Which painters do you most often use for reference? Why? I really like the artworks by Prof. Ludwik Maciąg, Andrzej Patter, Andrzej Novak - Zempliński, Zbigniew Kotowski and Bogusław Luśtyk. I am fascinated by their workshops and the end result in the form of excellent artworks.
What is your favorite genre of music to listen to while painting? When I paint, I really like listening to Marillion, but also Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Eric Clapton and Neil Young. If you could meet any artist who is no longer living, who would it be and why? Unfortunately, my master and Professor Ludwik Maciąg passed away 13 years ago. I went to Korfowe Arabians with him my very first time, and we would go to Arabian horse championships together. Do you have any upcoming exhibitions or collaborations? I have had many solo and group exhibitions in my artistic career. My last exhibition featured my own horse photography collection that took place in March 2019 at Forestry Museum in Gołuchów. What are your hopes and dreams or future goals, where do you see yourself in the next 10 years? My biggest dream is to have my own Arabian horse. As an Artist, I would love to create a coherent and valuable collection of Arabian horse paintings. In ten years, I hope I will be an accomplished artist, and a happy man inside a happy family!
rafalwalendowski
Rafał Walendowski