Show all images on one page	#001138 Title: Forest road Artist: Karapaev A. Size: 18x13.5x6.5 Price : $600 SOLD!

This beautiful landscape was painted by the master of this genre Yuriy Karapaev. The similar work can be found in N. Krestovskaya's "MASTERPIECES OF RUSSIAN FOLK ART. LACQUERED MINIATURES. FEDOSKINO.", page 100. The difference between this exact scene and the scene pictured in the book is minor.
The composition shows a sunny April day. The trees covered with young leaves and the meadow flooded with the melted snow are lighted up with warm and bright sunrays. Birch trees and pines stand tall in this marshy wetland. Soon the waters will recede and the road will take its previous position between the trees. The earth will bloom and the colors will become more green than ever.
The artist uses a stylized palette with greens, browns, and greys. To create a sense of depth the artist layers his paints in multiple levels so that the scene looks like it was taken straight from his imagination. To give the illusion of lush grass, and thick growth in the forest, Karapaev uses a technique used by watercolor artists that uses minute variations in solid areas of paint so the land and trees look very fertile. The background is painted vaguely; it is a trick artists use to create depth through perspectives. Aluminum powder mixed with grey oils is used to paint the sky and the outlines of trees painted in the background. Gold powder is used to highlight the trees, the firs and the meadow to create the visual effect of sunlight. This effect is also enhanced by the inlays of gold metallic leaf set under the painting. This under-glow is so intense you can almost feel the sun blazing into the back of your neck. The inlays are skillfully painted over so that the depth, which was mentioned earlier, is fully exploited. Even brighter than the gold inlays are small pieces of aluminum metallic leaf, hand placed during the drying process of one of the coats of clear lacquer. They are set in the foreground where the waters sparkle in front of the trees.
The box is constructed from paper-mache. Black lacquer is used to paint the exterior of the box while red lacquer completes the interior of the work. The sides of the box are decorated with gold floral patterns. The box has a hinge from the top of the composition and rests on a flat bottom. The Fedoskino "troika" insignia can be found on the interior of the lid. The box is signed with the artist's name, village and year (2004).