Everything Is Fine. Almost (2026) Original Acrylic Painting by Nataliya Bagatskaya

There is a moment when fear becomes so familiar that the body stops reacting to it as it once did.
This painting was born from my experience of living in Kyiv during an exceptionally intense period of Russian attacks. Over several days, around 1,500 Shahed drones were directed toward Kyiv. Air-raid alerts could sound almost every hour, while the all-clear sometimes lasted only five or ten minutes. There were moments when I would read on my computer that the alert had ended, walk into the kitchen, and hear the sirens again.
At some point, the body adapts. You no longer rush to hide every time you hear that familiar sound. You simply register it: *another air raid alert.*
This strange psychological state is at the heart of the painting. It is not about the first shock of fear, but about what comes afterwards, when constant danger gradually becomes part of everyday life.

A young woman sits on the edge of her bed with her head hidden in her arms. Her face cannot be seen. There is no dramatic gesture, no scream, no attempt to escape. She simply sits and waits. Her posture suggests exhaustion and a quiet acceptance of what cannot be controlled.
Beside her lies a black cat. During attacks, I watch my cat closely because he often senses danger before I do. His behaviour becomes a quiet signal, something I instinctively read to understand what may be happening around me.
That night, there was a ballistic attack: 23 missiles in approximately 20 minutes. Hiding seemed almost pointless. There was nothing left to do but sit, count the explosions and watch the cat.
And this time, he did not hide.
He simply stayed beside me.
That small gesture became the emotional centre of the painting.
Above the woman and the cat stretches an enormous black sky filled with stars. A missile moves through it, leaving a bright trail behind. The familiar intimacy of a bedroom suddenly meets the vast scale of war and the universe.
In the corner, a digital clock shows 00:00. Midnight becomes more than a specific time. It is a moment when ordinary life seems to stop. Time is no longer measured in hours, but in alerts, all-clears and explosions.
The painting does not show the explosion itself. It shows the silence between explosions — the psychological space where fear, exhaustion, acceptance and closeness exist at the same time.
For me, this work is about the moment when danger becomes ordinary, and about the strange forms of tenderness that can emerge within that ordinary life. When you cannot control what is approaching, the simple presence of another living being beside you can become extraordinarily important.
Dutch acrylic paints Amsterdam tm and Italian canvas by Unico were used. The finish is satin varnish, and the edges are painted in the background color. This painting is created on a pre-stretched canvas on a wooden frame. It is carefully packed in a cardboard box with layers of bubble wrap. The artwork is signed and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

Materials used:

acrylic paint

Details:

• Acrylic painting on Canvas
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 105 x 90 x 1.8cm (unframed)
• Signed certificate of authenticity
• Style: Photorealistic
• Subject: People and portraits