BY INA VUKIĆ: CROATIAN ARTIST SHOWCASED IN NOTABLE INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS

"Just Breathe"
by Branka Grubic

Croatian artist Branka Grubic has just won the Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery (United States based) international competition in “All Women Art Exhibition” with her work “Just Breathe”, beating 890 entries from 33 countries from around the world.
In fact, in January, 2016. Branka received two awards for her work.
Painting “Just Breathe” won 1st Place in Painting Category, and 1st Place in Overall Category on 5th Annual “Woman Art Exhibition” in Florida, USA.

Reacting to her win
Branka Grubic said:
"I'm as happy as pig in mud!"
Photo: Screenshot http://www.brankagrubic.com

Branka is a self-taught artist from Croatia’s beautiful and historic coastal town of Sibenik.

Old Town Sibenik Croatia

From her website “brankagrubic.com” we learn that Branka Grubic grew up in Sibenik, Croatia in the 1980’s. Her painting began as a teenager, but her career did not really begin until her early-30s. Branka’s paintings are contemporary and have a universal appeal to men and women of all cultures. The work consists of layers of paint and imagery that exude to energy and life. The viewer is drawn into a world filled with movement, a signature style illustrating Branka’s ability to juxtapose abstract mixed media with the feminine figure.

Photo: Screenshot
http://www.brankagrubic.com

Charity is also a high priority for artist Branka Grubic. She donated her art to several charitable events and causes. Continuous positive reception of Branka’s work is also evident in corporate settings with many leading organisations. Critics have said, “Similar to her pop art predecessors, Branka’s brightly colored abstracts and photo-paintings do not demand anything from us. They reflect ourselves back to us. They allow us to fill in the blanks with our own stories. Perhaps it is this lack of an agenda that appeals to such a giant segment of the population.”

Branka Grubic
Croatian TV news
Screenshot: HRT TV 9 January 2016

Her success with winning the awards this month means that her work will now be featured on the Light Space & Time website for the month of January 2016 and thereafter, her artworks and link to her website will remain online in the Light Space & Time Archives.

Branka Grubic at work
Photo: http://www.slikarskipribor.hr

In an interview Branka gave for the Sibenik In publication in Febnruary 2015, even though her career in painting didn’t begin until her 30’s the beginnings of her art creativity are rooted in her childhood and, as she said, she has “been drawing always. The first thing I remember is a drawing I did in second grade of Primary school, when I adored Charlie Chaplin. I took the ink and drew his head, his eyes, his little mustaches, his hat, one could recognise it was him in the drawing.” After Chaplin she moved on to draw the Muppet Show characters and characters from well-known cartoons. She said that drawing and art must be ingrained into her genes because her father drew, her grandfather who was a stonemason also drew and so does her brother …

Branka Grubic
Photo: Sibenik In/ Private Album

Branka Grubic has come a long way from the days of her Charlie Chaplin drawings and is an accomplished artist, internationally acknowledged for her skill and artistic insight. Acrylic on canvas has become her trade mark as so have her muses, which are people’s faces because, as she says, the faces are best for showing emotions. Branka has become known worldwide via internet galleries and has sold paintings in several countries including Great Britain, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The January 2016 United States art awards represent the highly esteemed award her work utterly deserves. Well done, Branka! Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A., M.A.Ps. (Syd)

 http://wp.me/p1Vqu6-29M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wn78iTDbOM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wn78iTDbOM