Plastic and stylistic features of my painting, namely the principles of decorativism, generalization, stylization, and monumentality, marked by the experience of working in artistic ceramics and sculpture, were transposed into the techniques and peculiar individual technique of my painting. These features tend to relief plastics with emphasized volume, refined silhouette, texture and enhanced flatness of elements and details.

The structure and compositional principles of my works are based on the combination of planar elements and motifs with the spatial qualities of objects, silhouettes with volumetric forms, and the line is combined and alternated with a spot. I pay great attention to the texture, which reveals the material qualities of objects and acts as a separate decorative element of the rhythmic organization of the canvas.

The style of my painting, the direction of the stroke, its thickness and size is not only a manifestation of color and shape. Each stroke of the brush is a separate element in the structure of the whole composition of the work, so you need to think over everything in advance, keep in mind the final result, make preliminary sketches. Then the artist is not like a camera, but passes what he sees through himself and selects the most characteristic.

The character of the stroke, its plasticity for me is a ready-made element, like a part of a mosaic. And these elements-strokes I combine and group into separate tonal and color chords, just like a composer writes a piece of music. I believe that the picture can not only be contemplated, but also "listened to".

Since I teach students the subjects "Theory of Composition" and "Theory of Color", I apply this knowledge in most of my plot-themed works, landscapes and still lifes, as well as portraits. I subordinate the artistic form, plastic language to objective laws based on psychology and visual perception of the depicted. 

All my pedagogical activity is a symbiosis of practice and theory. Once I was impressed by the book "On the Beauty of Art" by Rudolf Tepper (the second title is "Reflections and Notes of a Geneva Artist"). Professor of aesthetics at the University of Geneva R. Tepfer published his work in the 40s of the XIX century. In one of the chapters R. Tepfer says about teachers: "The best teacher is nature itself." In fact, it is the only teacher, because the artist-teacher is an intermediary between nature and the student.

Pedagogy is a subtle science. Each artist has his own system, a manner that is suitable only for himself, and this can harm the student. Blind imitation of the teacher can destroy the identity of the student. If the teacher is "heavy", then the students will be like that; if the teacher is distinguished by the simplicity of the drawing - the student will be "cold", without emotions; if the teacher works out the form very carefully - the student will "lick"; if the teacher is bold in composition - the student will be thoughtless.

Ukrainian artist and art theorist Mykola Pysanko (author of the book "Movement, Space, Time") argued that an artist who uses intuition rather than objective laws, rules and techniques in his work will not always be able to convey the artistic idea to the viewer. M. Pysanko researched and scientifically substantiated the laws of the picture plane as the primary environment of the artistic image. He interpreted the picture plane not only as a geometric form, but as an energy-spatial construction that contains the semantic differences of the top and bottom, left and right sides. In short, the format of the picture itself: rectangle, square, etc. is an energetic-spatial construction - not static, alive, which contains different emotional and meaningful zones that are outside the picture. Therefore, we should teach objective laws, rules and techniques in art, and not impose our subjective views. 

In my works, I reflect the period of life and everyday life of Hutsuls from the XVIII to the early 30s of the XX century. I am also engaged in research work: I am working on my dissertation research "Reception of Hutsulshchyna in Polish painting of the second half of the XIX century - the first third of the XX century". I believe that the national face of Polish art was formed in the nineteenth century on the basis, in part, of Hutsul culture.

Dutka Vasily Yakovlevich, Honored Artist of Ukraine, Associate Professor of the Department of Fine Arts and Academic Disciplines.

He was born on March 6, 1965 in the village of Nikolaevka, Buchatsky district, Ternopil region.

From 1981-1985 he studied at the Kosovo College of Folk Arts and Crafts. V. Kasiyan at the department of artistic ceramics. From 1985-1987 he served in the army.

From 1987-1993 he studied at the Lviv State Institute of Applied and Decorative Arts. Teachers in the specialty: Vasily Boychuk, Anatoly Kalitko, Nikolay Soltys, Anastasia Kobyuk, Grigory Kolos, Ivan Andreikanich, Ivan Frank, Taras Yanko, Vladimir Cherkasov, Yuri Dvornik.

Since 1993 he has been working at the Kosovo State Institute of Applied and Decorative Arts.

The artist fruitfully works in various genres - these are still lifes, portraits, thematic paintings, and especially landscapes, which occupy a significant place in his work. It is the images of nature that attract with their beauty, special sonority of color, realism and, at the same time, a romantic rethinking of the surrounding Carpathian nature.

As a result of studying the ethnoculture of his land, history, folk art and comprehending the best achievements of the Ukrainian fine treasury, the artist has developed not only his own style of execution, but also passionately provides his works with a peculiar national sound. Works are in different countries of the world: Poland, Canada, Belgium, USA, Australia. As a real specialist-teacher, today Vasyl Dutka transfers the acquired knowledge to his pupils, through his creative work he makes a significant contribution to the artistic treasury of our Ukraine.

Vasily Yakovlevich has a considerable creative potential, known to the general public from his exhibitions, catalogs of works and publications in the press. The author tries only to supplement the exposition of paintings and graphic works with unknown works that are in private collections and in museums in Ukraine and the world.

“The picture of Vasily Dutka is characterized, first of all, by a high compositional discipline, regardless of the image scalability. Through the power of intuition and dedication, he created an individual vision of life, revealing its various facets in the equivalent of high art. In terms of the fullness and problematics of painting, it occupies a unique place in the cultural and artistic process of our time. The artist's moral and ethical credo also presupposes the further development of his author's mythologeme. The refined, graceful nature of his paintwork reinforces the line of meaning in his reflections on history and modernity, over the visible, imaginary and incomprehensible ... "

Szczabli - 1990. Zakladowy Dom Kultury WSK "PZL-Rzeszow" m. Rzeszow, Poland

Impreza-93 - 1993 Ivano-Frankivsk Museum of Local Lore. Ivano-Frankivsk

Exhibition of creative works of teachers and diploma works of students of the Kassian Art and Design College - 1996. Ukrainian House Kyiv

Exhibition of creative works of teachers and diploma works of students of the Kassian Art and Design College - 1996 Ivano-Frankivsk regional organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine

Living traditions of Hutsul region - 1997 Lviv

Dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine - 1997 Chernivtsi regional organization of the NUAU Chernivtsi

All-Ukrainian art exhibition "Picturesque Ukraine" - 2001. Ivano-Frankivsk regional organization of the NUAU in Ivano-Frankivsk

Exhibition of creative works of teachers and diploma works of students of Kosiv State Institute of PDM - 2001. Palace of Culture "Ukraine", Kyiv.

All-Ukrainian plein air 2002. Ivano-Frankivsk Museum of Local Lore. Ivano-Frankivsk

All-Ukrainian exhibition "Authenticity and Time" - 2003 NUAU, Kyiv

Third International Plein Air 2004 Ivano-Frankivsk Museum of Local Lore. Ivano-Frankivsk

All-Ukrainian exhibition dedicated to the Day of the Artist - 2006 Kyiv

Exhibition of creative works of teachers of the Kosiv Institute of PDM LNAM - 2006 Kosiv Museum of Folk Art and Life of Hutsulshchyna, Kosiv, Kosiv district, Ivano-Frankivsk region.

All-Ukrainian art exhibition "Picturesque Ukraine" - 2007 Ternopil regional organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, Ternopil

International Art Exhibition "Carpathian Ridge" - 2007 Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Art Museum. Ivano-Frankivsk

Exhibition to the 60th anniversary of Lviv National Academy of Arts - 2007 Palace of Arts, Lviv

International exhibition of painting and graphics in the framework of the IV International Plein Air "Art Unites" - 2007. Fortress in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Nidzica, Poland

International exhibition of painting and graphics in the framework of the IV International Plein Air "Art Unites" - 2007. exhibition hall of the city hall of Olsztyn, Poland

All-Ukrainian art exhibition "Picturesque Ukraine" - 2008 Central House of Artists of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Kyiv

All-Ukrainian art exhibition "Galicia - 1100" - 2008 Ivano-Frankivsk regional organization of NUAU, Ivano-Frankivsk

Eternally living traditions - 2008 Kosiv regional organization of NUAU Kosiv, Kosiv district, Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Exhibition of applicants for membership in the NUAU - 2008 Central House of Artists NUAU Kyiv

International exhibition "Yadov climates" - 2010. House of Culture in Yadov, Poland

Dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Department of Monumental and Decorative Painting - 2010. Kosiv regional organization of the NUAU in Kosiv, Kosiv district, Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Rokolyada - 2011. Kosiv regional organization of the NUAU in Kosiv, Kosiv district, Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Exhibition of creative works of teachers and students of KIPDM - 2011. Museum of Hetmanate, Kyiv

Exhibition of creative works of teachers and students of the CCAI - 2011. Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv

Winter art fairy tale within the project "Art palette of Prykarpattia" - 2012. Kosiv regional organization of NUAU, Kosiv, Kosiv district, Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Exhibition of creative works of teachers and diploma works of students of the Kosiv Institute of PDM LNAM dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the art school in Kosiv - 2012. Museum of Ethnography and Arts and Crafts, Lviv

Exhibition of creative works of teachers and students of the Department of Fine Arts of the Kosiv Institute of PFA LNAM "Autumn Vernissage" - 2013. Kosiv Museum of Folk Art and Life of Hutsulshchyna, Kosiv, Kosiv district, Ivano-Frankivsk region.

All-Ukrainian exhibition of painting "Bright Square" - 2014 Central House of Artists of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Kyiv

Exhibition of creative works of teachers and students of the Department of Fine Arts of KIPDM LNAM "Autumn Kosiv" - 2015. Kosiv Museum of Folk Art and Life of Hutsulshchyna, Kosiv, Kosiv district, Ivano-Frankivsk region.