~ Oil Paintings on Canvas ~






   
“Wish” 2021.
 41x37 cm
  Work in progress
 








“Power” 2020.
 41x28 cm
  Detail
 









“Message” 2019.
 52x40 cm
Model: Janna Prosvirina
Work in progress



  







“Leaving” 2018.
 50x40 cm
Model: Melissa Termo
Detail 1








“Dance” 2017.
 42x30 cm
Detail 1
Detail 2



“Bride” 2017.
 36x42 cm
Model: Janna Prosvirina
Work in progress









“Catch the Sun” 2016.
 51x30 cm
Work in progress
 




 
“Morning” 2016.
 30x39 cm
Detail







“Flower” 2015.
 41x40 cm
Model: Kory Sanders
Work in progress
 


  









“Lost Kingdom” 2015.
 60x41 cm
Model: Marjolein Gulinski
















  “Devil” 2014.
 40x28 cm
  Work in progress
 




“Angel” 2014.
 50x59 cm
Work in progress









“Memories” 2013.
60x40 cm
Detail 1
Detail 2











  “Hope” 2012.
30x32.5 cm
 





“Promise” 2011.
 42x40 cm
Work in progress








“The King” 2011.
 59x42 cm
Work in progress
  Detail 1
  Detail 2










 
“Challenge” 2010.
 50x40 cm






“Mirror” 2010.
 27x30 cm
Detail 1
  Detail 2







“Prayer” 2009.
 33x25 cm
Model: Thomas Willeford
Detail

 







“Friendship” 2009.
 42x30 cm
Detail 1
  Detail 2
 






“Presentiment” 2008.
 30x26 cm
Model: Marjolein Gulinski
Detail 2





“Silence” 2007.
27x39 cm



“Heaven riders” 2006.
 35x55 cm
   


“Winner” 2005.
 40x56 cm
Detail 1
  Detail 2

   







“Dream” 2003.
 50x40 cm


   






“Princess” 2003. 
50x40 cm
 









“Language of roses” 2003.
 50x40 cm

  
  


“Awakening” 2002.
  24x30 cm


   



“Whirlwind” 2002.
 24x30 cm

  
  



“In front of the castle” 2002.
 24x30 cm






۞

Oil painting is a great challenge, eternal journey and quest. It has been changing for centuries within a very restrictive two-dimensional epoch, and it is still interesting. The blank canvas is the greatest challenge for every painter and does not leave him alone until it is finished, the challenge to head beyond the visible and the real, to look for the meaning of his spiritual adventure in a multitude of symbolic elements. Suzana Stojanović found the meaning of her artistic creation in the revival of everything that surrounds her. Her oil paintings on canvas include three motifs: portraits, animals and landscapes. She, often, combines all three elements into one whole (image “Friendship”), because, in her opinion, this “holy trinity” is the pillar of our civilization, its development and survival. The muted tones on this canvas show serenity, not so characteristic of the works of other creators with equestrian motifs. Suzana shows the moment of breather and relaxed positions of animal and the man who sits beside it. This oil is one of her most lyrical and harmonious works. The moment of sincere friendship, separated from untouched bliss, turns into eternity. Every detail is permeated with peace and poetry. As we look at this work, it’s almost impossible to get rid of the impression that there is an old photo in front of us. It is so precisely shown each element of the composition that we constantly wonder how the artist so realistically managed to show the subjects and the space to which they belong. Brown tones prevail in the image. Only the clothes of the man, which are characteristic for the territory of Hungary, are distinguished. This canvas is just one of the indicators that Suzana Stojanović in painting goes her own way. “There are parts of the painting that are done in one breath. Those are the moments when you squeeze the accumulated desire to create onto the canvas. Maybe you don’t remember all the procedures you applied in the work process, but you always remember those moments when you gave yourself completely”, says the author. The strength of her desire to create she embodied in the oil “Winner”. She thinks that races as a subject of working can not be fully perceived if the creator does not feel the feverish atmosphere and strong animals warmly desire for victory, when they are faster than the wind, when every vein on their body becomes an arrow that runs towards the goal. On this canvas, she manages to illustrate the flash of the equipment, to bring the animal to life and the flaming breath that blows from its nostrils. Each detail is confirmed by her remarkable gift of observation. The impression is that any movement, even the smallest trembling of the animal’s muscles, did not miss her sharp eye. The multilayered painting highlights the depth of the displayed space. Spilled contours of the pale green landscape in the distance increase the speed of the persistent animals. The dynamics of this composition point to one of the most important features of Suzana’s entire work - she can make masterful notes of a passing moment. One of her most representative oils is “The King”, in which, in the opinion of many experts, she has reached a level that is very difficult to overcome, not only because of the technique of oil colors, but also because of the light effects and many other details that this work are placed at the forefront of her creativity. However, under dignity, obvious superiority and a multitude of details, being without a glance and sad story is hidden. Aesthetic enjoyment at one point becomes a question: what is the life of this beautiful being and his friend from the blurred background that serves the king? How do those who have no choice to choose their own way feel? Do they always hide their views because someone convinced them that humility and obedience are the main factors of survival? A unique “The King”, besides that it attracts the views with a fluttering mane and interesting golden equipment with which it is tasseled, leaves many questions to the observers. The answers to these questions can be revealed in a limited, yet rich palette between gloss and darkness, grayness and whiteness. “Gray is the color of our defeat. The painters, who did not know how to illustrate all those nameless memories and moments in which they were not sure whether they were happy or suffering, whether they were falling or getting up, whether they were leaving or returning, created it. We accepted this color and it became an integral part of our day. It is that tall wall that always stands between us and our dreams, of which the living colors and hopes break. There is not enough big canvas in which we can place all those dreams, passers-by and words that we did not say. We are forced to paint in layers on this our, small. Its empty islands are desolate enough to describe all our remorse, foreboding, uncertainty and silence. Once, when space is no longer enough, we will also paint it with the last moves”, says Suzana in one of her stories. The change of palette is also visible on her oil painting “Bride”, which is characteristic of a very pronounced relief. Cold tones, which prevail in a bride’s environment, do not announce either joy or enthusiasm, but only a straight line interrupted by restless ruffles on a pale purple dress. This work uniquely illustrates transience. “The subject of painting can not be chosen, it chooses us”, says the author. The works in her gallery, viewed as a whole, are based on interweaving realistic and symbolic layers (image “Memories”). Although this canvas is dominated by a bright green hue, a lonely house in the distance, to which the man with a top hat faces, causes some other feelings. It seems that after many years he returned to his homeland and that the moments he once had left long ago in yellow fields flow through his thoughts. As we look at the beautiful landscape, it seems to us that we can feel the smell of spring. The “Message” is one of Suzana’s oils that also celebrate life and spring. A smiling woman, surrounded by flowers, leaves behind a landscape where clear and cloudy skies clash and she looks at certain, only her known person. The message carried by this look can be sensed from the position of the hand and the golden ring that shyly protrudes from the finger. This interesting portrait artist worked on a very smooth canvas, adapted to work with many demanding details and transitions from one texture to another and favorable for the effects achieved, but at the same time very difficult to paint in oil, because the brush glides on it like on a glass, and because of the non-covering colors, it is necessary to apply them in several layers. A lively pony on the canvas “Awakening” announces the beginning of some new searches and experiments. Despite modern trends in art and a growing number of creators who, because of faster and easier work, shift to acrylic colors, Suzana does not give up on the traditional, centuries-long easel painting, which begun now far away, year 1432. By virtue of the discovery of oil colors, the process, which enabled painters to conjure depth, light and gloss in the works and achieve the effect of glittering the eye and jewelry, was found. This process has created stable and unchanging sumptuous colors. By virtue of this technique, which has enriched many galleries with original achievements, easel painting became the music that accompanies us until today. Suzana Stojanović, an extraordinary animal oil painter and a tireless inventor of unusual faces, uses the oil medium with excellent refinement. Alternating thick and translucent layers, she manages to, on her own way, give her works beautiful tones and soft, glittering brightness. “The slow drying of oil colors allows corrections and different experiments which are very limited in other techniques”, she says. However, it often happens that, although stable, they are matting after several days of drying, and this can cause difficulties in working. She makes a medium for refreshing the matted parts of the painting of petroleum, varnish and linseed oil and she applies the colors with light touches of the brush in the form of a smooth, homogeneous and slightly thick mixture and works in several phases. First, on a tinted background, she does a detailed draft, and then depicts the most distant objects, and the closest and most important she always leaves for the end. She creates a mosaic of small colored surfaces with precise movements and thus she makes it possible for us to feel the pulses of life on the canvas. Her expression is constantly changing. Coloring occasionally becomes a pastel thanks to the shades of gray and blue. On her newer canvases and illustrations, she avoids the black color, which was characteristic of her early period of creation. Still, life’s tiredness, permeated with occasional disappointments and melancholy in ash shades, leaves a trace in every one of her oil paintings on canvas and in every unfathomable view that is lost in the distance. Tendency to realism in the portrait she revealed in her childhood, when she often worked portraits of persons around her, trying to discover in each one a specific characteristic line that would completely separate one from the group. “The face of the person is a great challenge because there is no harder work but with visual means to present the human soul. Portraying a man means to discover the truth about him, catch his thought and communicates with him. To send message to observers and figure out the enigma hidden in the human soul by the visual language and symbols is a challenge. Portraits require special study, clarification and analysis. Each of them is a palette of different feelings and expressions that are the result of deep inner states: surprises, tranquility, anticipation, defiance, unbelief, sadness, fear. The face is the landscape of man. In each of these landscapes, the historical movements of him and his ancestors are recognized, behind which there are different traces, told by his eyes. Portrait sometimes represents many personalities in one, revealing man’s psychology, naivety, life, loneliness and suffering, and sometimes infinitely happiness, welfare and hope in a better tomorrow”, she says. Her portraits from the early days show not just the ideal look of the model (some of these oils remained hidden today behind the wardrobes) as opposed to later works when in some cases those models are adapted to some aesthetic standards of contemporary society. The work “Challenge” in which rarely any hue missing is somewhere on the border between these two soils of experiments. It is characterized by freshness and the willingness of a young woman to cope with all the upcoming challenges. This canvas is just one of a series of confirmations that Suzana completely turns into natural light in her creativity, which may not be as attractive, effective and convincing as it is in the works of old masters (when the light, which comes from invisible and imaginary windows, illuminates only some parts of the face and body, and thus contributes to the mysticism and depth of the image), yet somehow emphasizes the vibrancy of the model and the openness of the space in which her models reside. “The challenge is to confront this environment in which a lot of details interweave and portray them all, without avoiding them, because they just contribute to the richness of works and experiences”, she says and introduces in her every work a unique element that differ it from all others. In the image “Challenge” there is many: starting from the emblem on the cap and vest of the woman to the colorful scarves that are wrapping her waist. Nevertheless, portraits on her canvases do not dazzle too much with external effects as much as the depth of character and individuality. It is very difficult to perform a detailed analysis of her characters, to get to know their thoughts and feelings and to imagine their life path, but that is exactly what gives their appearance an unusual depth that arouses curiosity. Portraits, both in her paintings and in literary works, reveal her power of psychological analysis. On them is reflected her personal stamp. Every creator has an angel who helps him work. It is sometimes an angel with wings that floats in the air, sometimes it is alive in some person, and sometimes it is completely invisible, we just observe it in the signs that it leaves behind. Suzana’s “Angel” is a collection of all this on one canvas. In gentle strokes of the paintbrush intertwined the whisper of past times, the beautiful face of the young woman, and the wavy hair of the color of wheat that separates from the vibrant background. The content of the image is very mysterious. Naples’ yellow, present in the background of the portrait, gives some special tone to this canvas. With this work, Suzana has shown that she really can depict women’s beauty and elegance and that she can be gracious, emotional and simple. The theme of her oils moves from portraits and trees to meadows, riders and water. Each of these motifs she presents different. “Oil colors carry some miraculous energy that can not be reached by any other technique”, says the author. Their power is evident in the work “Prayer” in the materialization of the knight’s armor, the volume of his body and the depth of space. The palette is vivid and clear, and it implies that the knight believes in the victory for which he prays. The fine lines of a young man’s face are contrasted with his impenetrable armor. Everything is painted exceptionally carefully, even decorations on the sword, which absorbs the brightness of the sky. In some parts of the canvas, especially the landscape in the background of a man, traces of the impasto technique, characteristic of Suzana’s earlier works, can be noticed. The arabesque of a knight’s silhouette and the atmosphere of the epic poem that surrounds this unusual work are etched in the memory. This oil is just one of the evidence that metamorphoses associated with the shift of time of day and the shift of the seasons leave a deep impression on the creator as well. Her opus is rich and encompasses the lives of many nations and different historical periods. “The artworks bear many traces of the culture in which they were created if the viewer carefully watches the portraits and objects that are displayed on them. Knowing when a work is done, the watcher can understand what life was like at the time when it was created”, she says and wants to return time on her canvases and illustrations. By coloring the lines, she writes a novel about the moments captured in the movements of a man and the lively animals that she depicts with convincing naturalism. Her sensual personality is most prominent in the way in which she shows the beings and landscapes surrounding them, embodying her by becoming the creator of a certain sophisticated style and a culture that is not superficial. It, which gives value and durability to her works, is their strength, coherence, uniqueness and magnificence of the subject. Whatever she is working, she always confirms herself: both in landscapes, in portraits, and even in still life (image “Language of roses”). Her oil paintings on canvas are evidence of the full commitment of her as an artist. She does not like improvisation and her technique requires time. By applying thin layers of colors, in order to get the necessary airiness in some parts of the painting, she has worked on her canvases for a long time, constantly improving her forms and experimenting with different pigments, creating an impression of unusual wealth, sophisticated and new, until then unknown hues. She chose this method to bring her visions and thoughts closer to viewers. “With the help of colors, the thought gets shape”, she says, for the reason she chooses oil colors for work because she thinks that she can express almost everything she wants: sadness and joy, coldness and warmth, love and suffering, existing and nonexistent. “Many walls of the galleries, decorated with magnificent works, are witnesses of important moments in human history, revolutions, upheavals, but also great loves. There are also some, perhaps intentionally unfinished works, whose truth is cruel and painful, and perhaps too beautiful to end. Brilliant canvases, created from the play of rebellious characters of painters and interesting models, colored the pages of the diary of many lives and minds. The beautiful redhead Fernande Olivier was left to rest on many of Picasso’s oils. Enchanted by the sophisticated and elegant Hermina Muni Dauber, Paja Jovanović transferred her beauty to many of his fascinating canvases. Even now, after many years, they rest side by side in the Alley of the Greats. Rubens reduced the portraits to two real women: Isabella and Helena. His life became closed to everyone else, and opens only to his beloved wives, whose faces became an indispensable part of many religious and mythological themes of the great master. Enchanting and gentle Emilie Flöge, Klimt captured in a strange composition of the painting, created a perfection that looks at us shyly after many years. Monet loved Camille-Léonie Doncieux so much that he painted her while she was lying on her deathbed. After the death of his beloved Gala, Dali remained living in the tower of the castle he bought for her, waiting for her to appear from somewhere and give him a hand, to rescue him from the darkness that engulfed him after her departure. They say that those who love too much lose everything. Maybe there is some truth in that. If in love we do not take what belong to us, someone else will. The desire to create is always waiting. It survived thanks to countless giving and taking”, writes Suzana Stojanović in one of her essays. She listens only to her own instinct and deals exclusively with what she is interested in, both in life and in art. She is in a continuous quest for tones, which are not always directed towards a realistic view and allows herself occasional exits from the frame of realism, and thus connects observers with her spiritual experiences. In her gallery of different styles and expressions there is a splendid panorama of interesting works, in which every canvas is woven out of the experience. From the inspiration and the move of paintbrush, the satisfaction of creation is born, full of surprises. Working with oil colors is complex, and, in many ways, mysterious human activity. Every human being sometimes feels the need to touch the unknown, to create something original. Painters are the only beings who can display their fantasies and experiences with tones that allow them to convey their sighting of the universe as it can not be expressed by other means. Suzana’s oil paintings on canvas (which can also be viewed in DeviantArt, Behance and ArtStation gallery) contain different ethical, sensual and symbolic elements, which often come from contact with reality. They are testimonies and documents about different cultures and customs that connect times and that we will be able to compare across them.

~ Pencil Drawings ~









“Connection” 2008.
 30x24 cm





“Through the shadows” 2008.
 33x41 cm









“Keeyana” 2008.
 30x24 cm

   




“Fairies” 2007.
 29x32 cm


   








“The call” 2007.
 50x35 cm


   




“In clouds” 2007.
 34x36 cm


   












“Friends” 2006.
 41x20 cm


  


“Family” 2006.
 40x57 cm
Detail


  


“Sunset” 2006.
 28x41 cm



  







“My way” 2006.
 40x29 cm










۞

Pencil drawings represent the basis of many works, and at the same time character and vision of the artists. Playing with brightness and with shadow, they in their galleries create figures of individuals and animals, and on their own way they form objects uniquely, which, from a certain angle of observation, motivates them to transfer them to paper or cardboard. These objects and figures they sometimes show so faithfully that, for moments, we seem to stand before statues or living beings and that we can touch them. “It is in this illusion that the power of graphite pencil is hidden”, says Suzana Stojanović, one of those who did not resist its silvery glint. Far from the chaos and noise of everyday life, on the cardboard, with her patience and precision, she is immortalized beautiful spaces, personalities and animals. “In this space, in which only contrasts are ruled, much of the new and interesting one can be discovered, which is often hidden below the color. Everything is clean and clear, like the city after the rain, on whose facades and streets we first notice what has stood for us for years, but we could not see it because of the dust. With its simplicity, the drawing touches the core of every matter. In life, we always have to start from something, and the pencil and paper are always at our hands”, says the author. As a child, she liked to draw floras. Their endless diversity constantly awoke her interest. Later, on the margins of her school notebooks, she often sketched animals. Considering that in her youth she was engaged in many techniques and among them engraving and sculpture, the knowledge of all these techniques had a great influence on the formation of her as an artist. Working on sculptures helped her to anatomically impeccable represent people and animals with pencils. One of her most famous drawings, which radiate incredible energy and expressiveness, is “In clouds”. Everything on this composition, full of dynamics, is dramatic, and, as we observe, it seems to us that the drama will flow into the space outside its frames. A powerful and upset animal is a central figure of this unique moment that takes place in the clouds. The struggle of brightness and shadow fades under its hooves. The being, melancholy view, is diverged from the ground and goes to some unknown sphere toward the sky. Gently shaded, soft celestial rugs, far from the cruelty of everyday life, bring some new life, unpredictable, but at the same time attractive. Detailed drawn equipment and the body of the animal contrast with the vague clouds that disappear in the whirlwind of movement. This artwork is one of those Suzana does not do with a black pencil, trying to soften the gradations between the dark and the bright zone and to enhance the naturalness of the subject, adding a note of mystery that sometimes seems incomprehensible and inexplicable to the observers. She is very creative and almost never repeats themes in both her visual and literary works. Unlike most artists who turn their experiences and perceptions into black-and-white displays, she does not draw only on white cardboard because she is of the opinion that the impressions that everyday scenes leave on us are not always the same intensity, but “everything is in the crossing of myriad vertical, horizontal, diagonal and winding lines. They speak much more than contrast, volume, shading, and sharp gradations”. The upright lines in her opinion resemble the pillars and associate those with strength, power and endurance (“The call”). The being, which prances, the trees of the deep forest in the background follow, and thus contribute to a monochrome show, that leaves breathless. This illustration is an example to show that the artist pays great attention to the proportions of the subject, which are almost mathematically correct. However, the impulsiveness, which comes from the depths of her being, overcomes the strength of a powerful animal. Suzana Stojanović with pencil is emphasizing the forms of full expression and volume by long shading and rare sharp gradations. In her gallery, you can sometimes see drawings made with dots (“Through the shadows”), whose structure is visible in the freckles that cover the body of the wonderful being and in the background filled with blurred circles, deliberately shaded a bit roughly to intensify the fineness and beauty of the animal. What is characteristic of all of her pencil works is the balance. Nothing on the side can distract the observer from the main subject. She unobtrusive highlights individual parts of the drawings, making them more important than others. By precise positioning of the main subject and by skillfully highlighting the focal point, she attracts the watcher’s view. Work “My way” consists of two parts that connect with a distinct line that draws the head and neck of the animal. The gentle light of the morning, in which the leaves and the profile of the beautiful being are bathed, announces the beginning of a new day and the path to which its gaze is directed. The observer does not know how this path looks, but Suzana with the pencil initiated his curiosity, and he identifies this path with some of his visions, desires and aspirations. “The ways have no beginnings and ends. They gather and split, but they all go somewhere. Even when you come to dead-end, you can always turn back and you are again on the new way. In the life of every artist, days happen when it seems that his creative enthusiasm will dry up at any moment and that his work will come to a dead end. The only way to get out of it is to look for the brightness, and if he is persistent enough and motivated, he will find it”, says the author “because everything in life, as well as in the drawing, is based on contrasts. All those outlines and sketches, made in different places and at different times, piled up in us, always find the way to go out. Sometimes they are not the way we see them, but they are always the kind we imagine. It is the ray that scatters the lines of the horizons of creation and opens the spaces of deep thinking and constant variability of mood. The sketching of various places and events is the only way of not letting them escape and not allowing them to transform into something quite the opposite of what the artist attended and what motivated him. His precise transmission of everything he sees before him with a pencil on a cardboard will keep from forgetting many links of the chain to which we all belong.” In one of her studies, Suzana explains why it is important to draw with a pencil: “It is the best way to understand the shape (whether it’s geometric or organic), the volume and anatomy of the body (whether it’s humans or animals), their gesticulation and the texture of many objects that the creator wants to present. Only with the help of drawing, we can understand the rhythm and expression of phenomena and concepts. Sometimes, just a few lines are enough to create a masterpiece, and sometimes the long-term work becomes nonsensical if it is not matched. Drawing is the beginning of every creative display and any artist should not avoid it, even if it were just the contours of what he wants to show and say. At the moment, when the pencil in his hands becomes a fountain pen, he is on the right path to write a successful story.” Unusual stories, which she writes with her own language on smooth and rough cardboard, erase the boundaries of the epochs. All of her drawings connect on the one hand the spontaneity and complete credibility of what has been presented, and on the other, the beautification of truth and reality, which, often, in all of us arouses restlessness and trepidation. Work “Sunset” symbolizes the connection of two beings, but at the same time the inevitability to which they are going. Their views, turning towards the sun which setting, seem to announce the end of a story. The half-dark scene is permeated with melancholic calmness. The winding lines of their twisted manes show some kind of not opposing to the events that coming. This peace is disturbed only by the gentle breeze, perceived in the rolling branches, which, as if for the last time trying to go to the sun. Bare, without leaves, they leave the impression of transience, which none of us, no matter how hard we try, cannot resist. Many of the creative souls, printed on paper and left to the first wind, were not able to resist this transience to take them in an unknown direction. The artworks of Suzana Stojanović are recognizable by interweaving the past and present, joy and sorrow. Inaccessible areas cause different emotions and admiration. With her art, she emphasizes the beauty of diversity, both human and animal. The subjects in her illustrations are characterized by expressiveness and sophistication. She does not idealize characters, and they do not have religious sublimity; these are quite ordinary people, unknown to the public (works “Keeyana” and “Friends”), riders who never separate from their companions, either in good or bad. The lives of these people can only be perceived by their views directed at observers. The compassionate realism and the atmosphere of spiritual warmth emerging from their view revive characters, but the composition, poses and gestures of the figures bring into it, at first glance an idyllic, atmosphere, note of disquietude and anticipation. What is interesting about these works is the clothes of these people, very detailed represented in graphite pencils on the cardboard, and it, at first glance, explains the areas they belong to. The atmosphere is complemented by animals, characteristic of these areas. With these works (which can also be viewed in DeviantArt, Behance and ArtStation gallery), Suzana shows that she does not like emptiness because they are poor in her opinion. She always enriches her artistic spaces with interesting particulars, such as a falcon that feels secure at the man’s hand. “All the forms that are found in his view, consciously or unconsciously, the artist always in some way presents with interrupted and full lines, which only he can fully understand. They are always different and, no matter how hard he tries, he can never repeat them. That’s the charm of drawing”, she says.

~ Arabian Horse Art ~

Romantic Arabian horse is considered the most beautiful of all the horses and a favorite motif in art. Its homeland stretches over endless desert highlands of Najd in the western part of Saudi Arabia, and its magnificent mane flying all over the globe. It is present everywhere: in places where there are numerous heroes and ordinary people, in the nature surrounding man, in many galleries, objects, phenomena, beliefs and artworks. Carved in difficult living conditions, in which survive only the most resilient, in the heart of Arabia, it crystallized as its most beautiful pearl. Gently transmitted from generation to generation, it is vented in the embrace of harsh climate and hard nomadic life. Created by crossbreeding Central Asia and Altai-Mongolian horses, it is the oldest and most persistent race horse. Its intelligence and spirited nature reflects in its bright, big and expressive eyes, about whose insight and benevolence speaks many myths, legends, stories and songs. The exalted neck and the beautiful line of its slender body write verses about being created by light and dreams (work “Dream”, which Suzana is, from this series, most fond of). Goddesses created it from the snow and gave it hidden strength - the invisible wings, which often helped it to overtake the opponent and the first to reach the desired goal, to skip obstacles and ravines to escape from evil. The wind revived it, the dew watered it with freshness, the mountain fed it with foliage, the meadow adorned it with the flowers, and the desert protected it with sand. Loyal and always awake, it never betrayed its master. Genghis Khan and Tamerlane are known as the most capable cavalry commanders in the history of the human race. Tamerlane constantly crossed his horses with the Arabians and no one else had such an effective cavalry as his. Powerful and durable, and at the same time fragile and emotional, with their unique anatomy, unusual beauty and attractiveness, they leave unforgettable impression. Beside their exotic appearance, which flows from snow-white, through gray, red, ocher and brown to black color, they fascinate with their incredible speed that has been developing through the history while they run in the desert sand. Arabian horse races have been taking place for at least two thousand years B.C. on the Arabian Peninsula. Art and oral tradition of Bedouins who have been related to the “desert horse” for centuries testify of this fact. Extremely beautiful, noble and gentle, and spirited and strong at the same time, persistent and tough, it remained noticed in the history of art as an inexhaustible source of inspiration of many creators. It is immortalized in many wonderful sculptures, graphics, and illustrations across the globe. There is not an art museum on whose walls we cannot meet its magnificent beauty. Its temperament and elegance enrich the epic and prose works of many greats who treat it with respect. Suzana Stojanović is one of those who did not resist its charm, dignity, pride and uniqueness. She represents it with a special series of artworks in different techniques. Creation is her mission. In this works she insists on the light and details she tries to convey to the viewers those most beautiful and rare moments that sometimes shine so strong to shade everything around, but also quickly disappear without leaving traces. The supernatural Arabian horses are part of these unrepeatable moments that are not easy to catch and explain. Suzana went on a long-term journey of her own research and finding lost notes about them, which could help her present them in a large mosaic of different colors, movements, moods, social and historical overturns. This path requires patience, love and dedication, because all that is worth is valuable because it is difficult to reach it, and the Arabians seem to resist persistently to the eyes and hands of the artists. “They can elevate us to the highest altitudes, make us think and reconsider, but they can never disappoint us or lead to despair, because only one of their view and movement is enough to forget about many of the difficulties that we constantly stumble on life way. Their position of the head when they prance, the sandy glint of the muscular body, the glance into which the sky is always blue and the mane that flies to that sky like flame is a great inspiration”, says Suzana Stojanović. In her works, the author idealizes and tames them with peaceful moves, unlike old masters who have worked with bold, rough and nervous movements, wide brushes, and chose war motifs to emphasize their strength and historical role. Her Arabian horses resemble sculptures, and their sad eyes resemble human. They shimmer from the darkness on the works “Princess” and “Hope” in expectation of some brighter days and rejoice in the sky without clouds and in the nature (“Whirlwind”), but also leave much space for thinking. “Life is not one-way and unambiguous; it is very complex, full of rises and falls, enthusiasm and resignations, constant effort and struggle. The engaging art always requires new emotions, and creative inspiration for new sources. Arabian horses are inexhaustible sources from which you never go away thirsty. It is enough that you look at them only once and you will remember that brushes and palettes are waiting for you in the studio”, the author says about them in one of her essays. They have not only artistic, but also great cultural and ethnological significance. They are an integral part of many festivals, coronations and ceremonies. “Heaven riders” are just one of the many impressive scenes of the Fantasia Festival in Morocco. It is a moment in which traditional customs, horsemen and their beautiful companions come together. The festive atmosphere, for which its participants are preparing for months and which is an essential part of their lives and growing up, is just a part of interesting cultural events from these areas that inspire with their specialty. The riders in traditional costumes and their tasseled horses have celebrated long term friendship, harmony and mutual trust and demonstrate the strength and power of their own connection. It seems that horsemen, who synchronously shoot up, lift the ground to the sky. All this enthusiasm, which follows this equestrian sport during many celebrations, weddings and births, is unrepeatable. Decorative elements and agile Arabians, covered with dust particles and traces of smoke, which emerge from long rifles, are true art. Many historical events, battles, conquests and big names have been related with them and with their movements. If we follow these movements, we can come to incredible discoveries. Suzana writes in one of her notes: “Arabian horse art is an area that needs to be studied for years and decades to realize at least the centuries-old course of its development and to be able to break down a part of that knowledge that we could plant a new, our tree. It’s not just that distinctive curved line with a scattered mane. It’s a science.” While in the shade of a desert oasis, surrounded by a glittering chain, red braids, bells and ornaments in the form of small blue flowers and tiny horseshoes, young Arabian shines in all its uniqueness, to the observer, the question whizzed through his mind: “Is it possible for this beautiful creature to live on Earth?” The answer is: “Yes.” All the cuteness written on the pages of its ancestors’ lives, recorded in just one moment in a mischievous look, directed towards an interesting tomorrow, gives a stamp to this work, contained both in the visual experience and in the name “Wish”. The gentle light that breaks through the leaves shows a note of shyness and insecurity, but the position of the head of this beautiful horse indicates dignity and readiness to step into the future. Its beauty, like a star, radiates but does not scatter. There is something unusually impressive in that beauty and at the same time irresistibly lively, convincing and true. Bright Egypt in its eyes, the play of fluttering colors, tenderness and fragility shape the recognizable art that is born from warm sand. Exciting trips to North Africa fulfill the art lovers with many impressions and memories. The artist who enters the Egyptian and Moroccan land never returns home with empty roll. This prolific soil left behind the most original artistic achievements. Exotic and the spirit of old times attracted like a magnet. Oriental scenes, atmosphere and speech of the east should be experienced, breathed and heard. All this art shaped with figures of imaginary knights, woven of turbans, rugs, fabrics and ornaments, which are often part of the equipment of Arabian horses (“Silence”) and bathed in the sun’s rays, should know to describe. This sumptuous art requires space, love for the presented subject and coloring skills, because it is just the one who builds the composition, gives the volume to the bodies and shine the ornaments. You need to be ready to grapple with all these details. Suzana in her gallery observes and presents Arabian horses, although not out of the field of realism, romantically. Their buoyant jumps sometimes appear on her works only as a carefree play of beautiful beings that live in some kind of universe, to whom, no matter how hard we try, we will never be able to fully reach it. As we look at them, it seems to us that they know they are posing, and they are constantly trying to be attractive. Pastels, which she used to make their portraits, “Flame” and “Whisper”, give vividness and glitter to works, but those star in their eyes can conjure up only the soul and defiance, which makes us stronger and more insistent than others. It is this star that constantly returns to working and new searches because “as much as you work Arabian horses you always seem to have a lot more unsaid and unfinished about them to constantly fear that you will not have enough time to achieve it all and immortalize; they can simply get you to cross the limits of your own possibilities and become tireless. To know these playful beings and their temper is a great privilege and, as far as we persistently studied their appearance and movement, we always seem to be at some beginning. They are always different. You can make countless sketches, but none of them will be good enough to transfer it to the other base, as these purebred beauties never give peace”, says the author of this unique series of artworks (which can also be seen in DeviantArt, Behance and ArtStation gallery), and at times she shows them so really, making them tangible. Their moodiness and forcefulness is exactly what kept them on the throne of the art scene for centuries. The army of the Ottoman Empire remained remembered in history for many victories thanks to the ardent Arabians, who enriched every scene of victory and defeat and are always in the forefront as the main bearers of the action. With their strength and energetic movements, they conjure up moments from the past and allow us to experience what we have just read about different. Tasseled and impatient, under the bodies of powerful soldiers, they symbolize the power and firm determination to win every battle. The dazzling whiteness and splendor of these loyal and enduring companions always overshadow the dark side of the war in which the cruelty, hopelessness and fear prevail. Just in this contrast, which always distinguishes them from the environment, is their power and specialty. Recognizable by their dynamic movements, wild temperament, impetuosity and courage, unique, both in the universe that surrounds us and in art, they were and stayed the symbol of heroic struggles and victories. On imposing works, they are unsustainable in achieving some of their only known goals, constantly moving in some timeless space between reality, tradition, mythology, religion and history. During his stay in Morocco, Delacroix, among other things, wrote about Arabian horses: “In their homeland they are proud spirited, energetic and extremely meek, but all this disappears as soon as they change the climate; in the strangeness they become aggressive and it often happens that they get rid of horsemen to start a fight that lasts for hours. They fight furiously and cruelly as tigers and nobody and nothing cannot separate them. Noisy, heavy breathing and steam that comes out of wide nostrils like clouds from locomotives, manes agglutinating with blood, wild jealousy and everything related to them, both appearance and character, is poetry.” Suzana Stojanović, who with great enthusiasm working them, says about these unique animals: “To immortalize the restless, unconcerned Arabians, who are like a fire that comes out of a volcano that people are struggling to tame, is the epic. Like a glowing lightning, they have a need to shine. Their movements are as strong as wind and storm, and their view is gentle like a moon. In this view, the moments of many terrible times, endless and hard journeys of desert sand, countless insurmountable obstacles, wandering and uncertainty stopped.”