artist
author of the Polyphantom-Art
author of the Polyphantom-Art
Olga Stein
I began my journey into painting at the age of 50.
Here is a brief history of my evolution as an artist.
From education, analytical and practical research to
the concept of Polyphantom-Art.
2020 – 2022
Course: "Composition: Elements, Methods, and Techniques" (3 Semesters) Total duration: 15 months.
Educator and Author of the Methodology: Nikolay Fedotov — artist, designer, publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of online magazine "The Obraz, dedicated to art education" (Saint Petersburg).
Advanced Practice: During breaks between the main study blocks, I engaged in weekly private sessions with the teacher for in-depth study of composition and intensive artistic practice.
Simplified Introductory SyllabusCapturing Viewer Attention
Course: "Composition: Elements, Methods, and Techniques" (3 Semesters) Total duration: 15 months.
Educator and Author of the Methodology: Nikolay Fedotov — artist, designer, publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of online magazine "The Obraz, dedicated to art education" (Saint Petersburg).
Advanced Practice: During breaks between the main study blocks, I engaged in weekly private sessions with the teacher for in-depth study of composition and intensive artistic practice.
Simplified Introductory SyllabusCapturing Viewer Attention
- Introduction
- Anatomy of Vision
- Neuroaesthetics
- Focal Points in Imagery
- Formal Stimuli
- Subject-Based Stimuli
- Form and Content: Categories of Composition
- Strategies of Genius: Methodology
- The Viewer and Visual Thinking
- Defining and Selecting a Theme in Composition
- The Principle of Polarity
- Binary Opposition
- Conflict Theory
- Subject Matter
- Primary Elements
- The Point
- The Line
- The Plane
- Silhouette and Shape
- Visualization
- Light, Color, and Color Space
- Tonal Value
- Texture
- The Artistic Image
- Contrast:
- Perceptual Contrast
- Contrast of Form
- Color Contrast
- Visual Thinking
- Hierarchy of Relationships
- Color Relativity
- Color Models
- Color and Pigment
- Coloristics
- Methods of Color Harmonization
Advanced Mastery: Theory and Practice
Having mastered the laws of composition, I continued my education with a course that became a powerful fusion of theory and practice. We experimented tirelessly with color and studied primary sources—replicating the rigor of a true Academy.
We literally dissected color. We analyzed the ideas of Malevich and Kandinsky, put Itten’s theorems to the test through practice, completed Josef Albers’ assignments from the Bauhaus curriculum, and worked with the color charts of Mikhail Matyushin and other innovators. It was an immersive, seven-day-a-week process: lectures and critiques were immediately followed by new material and non-stop practice. Our standard output was 5–6 works per week, though often far more.
By conducting real optical experiments and diving deep into theory, we examined the mechanics of color perception in practice. This allowed me to understand exactly how and why an artist can utilize the results of such experiments to achieve specific goals and bring any creative vision to life.
Coloristic System: Theory and PerceptionThe Nature of Color
Having mastered the laws of composition, I continued my education with a course that became a powerful fusion of theory and practice. We experimented tirelessly with color and studied primary sources—replicating the rigor of a true Academy.
We literally dissected color. We analyzed the ideas of Malevich and Kandinsky, put Itten’s theorems to the test through practice, completed Josef Albers’ assignments from the Bauhaus curriculum, and worked with the color charts of Mikhail Matyushin and other innovators. It was an immersive, seven-day-a-week process: lectures and critiques were immediately followed by new material and non-stop practice. Our standard output was 5–6 works per week, though often far more.
By conducting real optical experiments and diving deep into theory, we examined the mechanics of color perception in practice. This allowed me to understand exactly how and why an artist can utilize the results of such experiments to achieve specific goals and bring any creative vision to life.
Coloristic System: Theory and PerceptionThe Nature of Color
- The physics of light and color.
- The Spectrum: Understanding that objects do not possess inherent color.
- The Perceptual Equation: Light + Eye + Brain = "Color."
- Color Constancy as a source of visual illusions.
- Light, Color, or Pigment: Defining the artist's medium.
- Subjective vs. Local color. Metamerism.
- Color Environment and Reflected Light (Reflex).
- Key figures in the history of Color Science.
- The Chromatic Accordion. Architectons. Color Coordinates.
- Harmonic combinations and Complementary colors.
- Fundamental characteristics of color.
- Color and Tonal relationships.
- Active vs. Passive tonality as the foundation of Color Palette (Colorit).
- Working with Color Gamuts: The Munsell System.
- Trichromatic Theory.
- Primary Colors.
- Principles of Color Harmony.
- Color Gamuts and Schemes.
- Colorit (The overall harmonic system of a work).
- Harmonic arrangements.
- Complementary color systems.
- The Limited Palette technique.
All acquired knowledge was immediately applied in practice. It was a period of colossal intellectual and physical exertion.
Through this work, I immersed myself deeply in the science of color, discovering its internal forces: relativity, interaction, and its psychological impact on the human experience. It was a time of revelations, deep insights, and the emergence of new meanings. Every piece of work became a step into the unknown—a place where color transcends form and conventional perception.
This is how I discovered the fourth dimension of color: Polyphantom.
The world around us is not only polychromatic but also polyphantomic. One is inseparable from the other. This is exactly what my art is about.
Some of my research and experiments on the study of contrast and the properties of color (2021-2023)
