When We Stay Very Quiet (2026) Original Acrylic Painting by Nataliya Bagatskaya

There is something almost peaceful about this room. A young woman sits quietly in a black rocking chair, while a black cat watches from a red armchair beside her. Around them are familiar signs of home: a piano, a single pink rose, a tropical plant, floral wallpaper and an old patterned carpet. Muted greens and dark wood create a nostalgic, dreamlike atmosphere, interrupted by deliberate flashes of red.
Yet the stillness is not entirely peaceful.
This painting was inspired by my experience of living in Kyiv during Russian missile attacks. When a ballistic threat is announced, there may be very little time between the warning and the sound of an explosion. Sometimes there is nothing left to do except wait.
So I sit quietly.
And the cat sits beside me — as if, if we stay very quiet, perhaps the missile will not notice us.
It is an irrational, almost childlike thought. But when danger is completely beyond our control, the mind searches for small rituals that can create an illusion of safety.
This is the psychological space I wanted to capture.
There is no explosion, smoke or destruction in the painting. Instead, there is a room holding its breath. The woman is calm. The cat does not run. The flower remains in its vase. The red shoes are still on her feet. Ordinary life continues, but it has become intensely fragile.
War is present precisely because it is absent from the image.
The rocking chair becomes a place of waiting. The cat becomes a silent companion and witness. The room becomes a temporary shelter. And silence becomes an act of survival.
For me, this painting is ultimately not about missiles. It is about the human instinct to protect ordinary life when the world outside becomes unpredictable — and about the quiet intimacy between two living beings simply sitting together and waiting for danger to pass.
Sometimes survival looks nothing like heroism.
Sometimes it is simply sitting very quietly beside someone you love.
Dutch acrylic paints Amsterdam™ and Italian canvas by Unico were used. The artwork is finished with satin varnish, with painted edges matching the background. Created on a pre-stretched canvas on a wooden frame. Signed and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Carefully packed for safe delivery.

Materials used:

acrylic paint

Details:

• Acrylic painting on Canvas
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 65 x 115 x 1.8cm (unframed)
• Signed certificate of authenticity
• Style: Photorealistic
• Subject: People and portraits