“Golden Autumn. The Shadow That Seeks the Light” – Original Oil Painting by Marina Stognieva

The Story Behind the Painting

“Golden Autumn. The Shadow That Seeks the Light” is an original oil painting by Ukrainian artist Marina Stognieva, created in England in 2025. The work is painted in oils on canvas and measures 60 × 80 cm.

Two white swans glide across calm water surrounded by an autumn landscape. Golden, yellow, and orange trees glow around them, while their reflections continue these colours across the surface of the lake. Darker areas of the forest create a strong contrast with the luminous autumn tones, shaping the central emotional idea of the painting.

General view of the painting “Golden Autumn. The Shadow That Seeks the Light”.

The title reveals the deeper idea behind the work. Light becomes especially noticeable when it exists beside shadow. The darker forest intensifies the glow of the golden autumn, while the quiet presence of the swans adds a sense of harmony and balance to the composition.

The swans occupy only a small part of the large landscape, yet they immediately attract the eye. Their pale silhouettes on the water become a quiet centre of the composition — an image of closeness, peace, and life continuing its movement through the changing rhythms of nature.

Detail of the painting — swans on the autumn lake.

The painting was created in Marina Stognieva’s art studio in England in 2025. The photograph of the work in progress captures one of the stages in which the composition was still developing, before the colours, reflections in the water, and details of the landscape were brought together into the finished painting.

The painting in progress in the artist’s studio. England, 2025.

The work also includes an inscription in Latin — a separate detail of the composition that can be viewed more closely. Such elements add another layer of interpretation and strengthen the symbolic character of the painting.

Detail of the painting — inscription in Latin.

For the artist, this work became a reflection on the relationship between light and shadow, and on the way beauty can remain visible even against darkness. Autumn here is not seen only as the end of a season — it becomes the moment when nature reaches one of its brightest and most radiant states before another transformation begins.

Marina Stognieva beside the painting in her art studio. England, 2025.

Video of the Painting

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Artwork Details

Original Painting & Collectible Fine Art Prints

“Golden Autumn. The Shadow That Seeks the Light” is an original painting by Marina Stognieva, created by hand in oils on canvas. It is a unique one-of-a-kind artwork.

Collectible Fine Art Prints personally signed by Marina Stognieva may also be available for selected works. Available sizes, materials, prices, and other details can be discussed before ordering.

Payment & Worldwide Shipping

Payment can be made via PayPal, bank transfer, or another agreed method.

The painting is presented as a gallery-wrapped canvas on stretcher bars. Packaging and transportation are arranged before shipping according to the size of the artwork and the destination country.

Worldwide shipping is available. Shipping costs and estimated delivery times are calculated individually. All purchase, payment, packaging, and international shipping details can be discussed directly with the artist before ordering.

“Light becomes especially visible when shadow exists beside it. In this painting, I wanted to combine the quiet harmony of the swans with the radiant glow of autumn — as a reminder that even through darkness, the eye continues to search for light.”

— Marina Stognieva