I first saw the art of Tetiana Kopytova a few days ago on Instagram—a series of dark, ominous illustrations for “Wartober 2022.”
A post shared by Tetiana Kopytova | illustrator | artist (@kopytova_tetiana_horse_art)
Scrolling through her Instagram page, I saw dozens more pictures about life in Ukraine since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022.
This was not the kind of content she imagined creating and posting when she created her Instagram page in 2017, with the handle @kopytova_tetiana_horse_art.
Her bio reads in part:
☆ artist, illustrator, dreamer from Ukraine 🇺🇦
☆ horses-, cats-, dogs- lover
Before the war, Tetiana Kopytova was earning her living illustrating children’s books and painting horses.
She loves horses.
Here she is riding a white horse in a July 2017 selfie video.
A post shared by Tetiana Kopytova | illustrator | artist (@kopytova_tetiana_horse_art)
Before the war, for almost five years on Instagram, she posted mainly about horses. On January 28, 2019, she unveiled her new website with the caption: “It's ready! My site! Yeah! Please enjoy!”
A post shared by Tetiana Kopytova | illustrator | artist (@kopytova_tetiana_horse_art)
Here she is in her studio with her cat in October, 2019:
A post shared by Tetiana Kopytova | illustrator | artist (@kopytova_tetiana_horse_art)
Here’s a painting she posted on December 24, 2019:
A post shared by Tetiana Kopytova | illustrator | artist (@kopytova_tetiana_horse_art)
She also shared occasional pictures with her son and updates on her book-illustrator career.
A post shared by Tetiana Kopytova | illustrator | artist (@kopytova_tetiana_horse_art)
Several books she has illustrated are available on Amazon, with titles like: “The Peaceful Porcupine” (2020), “Nobody Knows How to Make a Pizza” (2019), and “The Panda That Wanted to Touch the Sky” (2021).
Then came war.
Tetiana Kopytova posted this picture on Instagram on 15 April 2022:
The caption to this illustration reads:
“... when the air alarm at night - all over your country. We are nowhere safe here while Russia commits its crimes, kills us, and destroys our cities and villages.”
On 14 July 2022, she posted this picture:
The caption reads in part:
I used to be an illustrator of children’s books and drew nature, animals, and children. I loved the sunny color and funny stories. Now I often draw children too. But in a different way. And my references are cruise missiles now. That are killing these children.
Today russia bombed the center of Vinnitsa… One baby was torn to pieces right in the baby carriage along with his mother. I look at the clean white shoes of a dead child on the photos, I see the yellowish socks on the torn-off leg of this child’s mother, which lies next to the overturned stroller, and I think in my head: we need to wear only nice clothes now.. just in case .. After all, the whole world will see.
The latest book Tetiana Kopytova illustrated is titled “The Battle for the City” (2022). The book description says, “It is designed to help children who, against their will, become participants in this violent war, to believe that light will triumph over darkness, and evil will certainly be punished.”
Today was Tetiana Kopytova’s birthday and she posted this on Instagram:
A post shared by Tetiana Kopytova | illustrator | artist (@kopytova_tetiana_horse_art)
Her caption reads in part:
“Today is my birthday. Surely, we are not in too much festive mood… this year. And the only wish we don't get tired of repeating to each other: ‘Victory!’”
See more of Tetiana Kopytova’s art here: https://kopytova.com/
And you can give her a follow—and wish her “happy birthday”—on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/kopytova_tetiana_horse_art/
Here’s a list of global resources for Ukrainian artists who require urgent assistance, including emergency funds and residency opportunities compiled by PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection (ARC).
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