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Sometimes I just stop in front of his paintings and lose track of time. Rothko doesn’t just use color, he speaks through it, and this conversation cannot be overheard, it can only be felt. I have always been fascinated by color, but the way he layers paint, how each layer rests upon another, creates a depth that takes your breath away. It feels as if the painting is alive, breathing, and every shade carries emotions that are hard to put into words.

His compositions seem incredibly simple, yet I know that all the magic lies in the way the colors interact. They don’t just exist side by side; they communicate, creating meaning, movement, and mood. Sometimes I close my eyes and feel their meditative power - calm and inner stirring at the same time. This feeling is hard to explain, it can only be experienced.

One of the greatest joys in my life as an artist was finally seeing Rothko’s paintings in person - first at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and later at MoMA in New York. In Russia, we don’t have the opportunity to experience his works up close, and seeing them in these museums was an unforgettable moment. There is something completely different about standing in front of his massive color fields, feeling their scale, their energy, and the silence that exists between the layers of paint.

I often think about how much I have learned from his art for my own paintings. Rothko teaches me to trust color, to let it speak without trying to fill the space with details. In my abstract landscapes, especially in my new series, I try to create emotional spaces where the viewer can pause, breathe, and feel something personal. Rothko reminds me that art is not only what you see with your eyes, but what you feel with your whole heart.

Sometimes I wish everyone could feel it the way I do, the silent presence of color, its depth, and its mystery. Rothko inspires me to be bolder with color, to listen to it, and to trust my own sensations. And when I start a new painting, I always think about how to make the color speak, breathe, and touch the heart as powerfully as it touches mine.