At the store “Latvijas Sveces”, the specially created mini paintings by artist Ieva Bondare, which adorned square candles, were sold out within eight hours of the store opening. Seeing the great response from people and feeling satisfaction with the result of the project, Ieva creates new, wonderful candle collections several times a year.
The long research process
The idea for paintings on candles was nurtured for three years. “When I was initially approached by the owner of the Dobele candle shop “Sveču istaba”, a long and interesting period of experimentation began,” says Ieva Bondare, who sold her first winter collection in the “Sveču istaba” store. The idea was helped by the large square candles seen in the “LATVIJAS SVECES” store, which the Dobele candle factory asked “LATVIJAS SVECES” to make as a special order. “I saw a wall on which I had to put my painting,” recalls the artist. And since she had already tried various options technically, this time she clearly saw that these paintings had to be like mini versions of her usual large-format paintings. And they would be made separately, to then be attached to the candle. “I cut pieces of canvas with my hand and scissors, painted on them, and then nailed the canvases to the candle myself with small nails,” says Ieva Bondare.
Spring inspires
“It is very important for me to put my heart into my work, to make people happy,” the artist says about the process of creating paintings. “That is why most often it is my empathy for people, to whom I give feelings by giving my works, that is also my source of inspiration for implementing new projects.” When creating the spring collection, Ieva thought about the feelings with which we all welcome spring. A barely noticeable sprout, the clear chirping of birds and a living room bathed in sunlight.. The awakening of nature and the impatient excitement of people. The oil on the canvas was applied in lively and bright strokes, creating a collection that reflects spring in each of us.
See for yourself
As with any large-format artwork, on the other side of these miniatures you can read the painting technique, the size of the painting, the year of creation and the title. Interestingly, Ieva does not name any of the color abstractions she creates by a specific name. “The name, on my part, is the basic tone of each color in Italian, because I do not want to limit the imagination of the recipient of the painting – everyone can and is invited to see their own painting there,” says Ieva Bondare. And just as no two people are the same, Ieva has not created these paintings two identically – each of her paintings is special, no matter what its size.
Art is eternal
Candles, like paintings, can be a wonderful interior object - it was also important to preserve this idea when implementing the idea of paintings on candles. "If the candles in this project are burned, and I really encourage you to burn them - to enjoy the play of flames in the room - then even after the middle of the candle has burned out, it is possible to remove the painting, frame it in a large gold frame and hang it on the wall in the room as a charming decoration, because when the candle burns, neither the canvas nor the paint is damaged. Also, these large candles never burn out completely, and the work of art gets a second life, glowing in the room," says Ieva.