I think it’s weird calling an artist who’s twice my age “up and coming”, but looking at @prakorin’s Instagram following it seems like he’s on the “upwards” part of the art roller-coaster, and not quite at the peak yet.
Or so it would seem! Turns out, just because an artist doesn’t have millions of followers on Instagram doesn’t mean they aren’t at their peak locally!
So, as we learn about him, let’s look at his oil paintings. They’re out of this world.
1. Where is he from?
The artist’s full name is Oleg Prakorina. He’s from Belarus and lives in a small town outside of Minsk. He’s actually made quite a name for himself in his local community. Even though his Instagram account is dedicated to his oil paintings, he’s actually an all-around artist and handyman!
2. Oil on Canvas
Oleg Prakorina has been making art for several decades now, but it seems like he has only just now fully embraced the classic combination of oil on canvas. He did a lot of watercolors before. His paintings are very original, but he also doesn’t shy away from showing his influences. From the impressionist brushstrokes of Monet to the stark, edgy, geometrical portraits that call back to the paintings of Picasso — it seems like Oleg is exploring all the aspects of art.
3. Woodworking
Prakorina’s first artistic output came in the form of woodworking. He created wood sculptures, as well as furniture and utensils. As a matter of fact, he’s credited for creating 54 spoons for a local dance/music ensemble in his region of Belarus. Yeah, that’s right — Oleg spent several months crafting spoons that a band could play on stage. That’s what I call “giving back to the local community”.
4. House of Trash
A few years ago (in 2017, to be exact), Oleg Prakorina made the headlines of various news outlets with his biggest (in terms of scale) accomplishment to date. He built an entire house out of trash. This news spread across Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and eventually even some US-based news outlets. The house is fully functional, but I’m not sure I would want to live in it.
5. Recognition at Home
Oleg Prakorina is a recognized artist in his local community as well as the entirety of Belarus. He has been given the status of a “National Artist of Belarus” for his woodworking and his stone sculptures.
6. Art Director
Remember how I mentioned the spoons he made? Well, that’s not all the work he does to “give back” to the community. Oleg Prokarina is the art director of a local “studio”. He curates exhibitions, helps with arranging costumes and sets for local performances, and generally helps with the promotion of local artists in his area of Belarus.
7. Art for Sale
You can always go to his Instagram page and slide into his DMs to buy some of his paintings. He’s also available for commissions! I haven’t been able to find out what the prices are and whether he provides worldwide shipping, but he definitely does portraits for sale!
8. Stone Art
For a while, a lot of his output was centered on stone sculptures. Stone seemed to be his “transitional” art form after he was done with woodworking but before he transitioned to creating oil on canvas paintings. A few of his stone works are featured on his Instagram.
9. Risky Business
Very little of his work touches on LGBTQ+ issues, but it seems like this picture of Batman and Superman came right in time for the catastrophe that is the Batman VS Superman movie.
10. A Little bit of Picasso
As I said, Oleg Prokarin doesn’t shy away from showing his influences. Here you can clearly see a touch of “Picasso” with the geometric shapes and the combination of abstract figures and clear-as-day faces.
