In Angelical, Valeriya Veron captures a child at the precise moment between innocence and awareness. The young girl’s face tilts upward at a dramatic angle, her striking blue eyes wide and searching, looking up and outward with an expression that carries something ancient in its openness. Dark hair falls loosely around her face, a few strands crossing her cheek, and the soft parting of her lips suggests a question not yet asked. There is nothing posed about this moment. It is caught, not arranged, and that quality of the unrepeatable instant gives the portrait its extraordinary emotional charge.
Valeriya Veron works the 14″ x 11″ surface in soft pastel, graphite pencil, and watercolor, drawing on all three media to build a portrait of luminous delicacy. Graphite gives structure to the hair and the precise observation of the eyes. Soft pastel warms the cheeks and brow with the faintest flush of color. Watercolor washes unify the whole with a translucency that suits the subject perfectly. Angelical is exactly what its title promises, a portrait of a soul still close to something pure, rendered by an artist with the skill and sensitivity to honor that fleeting quality before it passes.