We don’t frequently get the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of nature in our daily life. However, looking at one of Jelena and Aleksandar Paunkovi’s paintings would swiftly transport you to the lush greenery of a forest floor. The married pair, who go under the moniker JA Paunkovi, collaborate as an artist duo, drawing inspiration from their natural surroundings in Serbia.
Jelena and Aleksandar met while studying at Belgrade’s Faculty of Arts, where they both earned an MA in Applied Arts. Following that, the pair relocated to the mountain Kosmaj to be closer to nature and established a studio. Their lifelike oil paintings are inspired by the flora they encounter while out hiking. “As artists,” Jelena and Aleksandar explain to My Modern Met, “connecting with nature is a vital aspect of our psyche.”
“Each mountain hike and each visit to a new area provides material for us to use in the studio as a sketch for a new painting,” the duo says. “We’ve discovered a method to bring nature inside a house or gallery and display it on the wall as a reminder that we need to think more about how our contemporary lifestyle impacts the environment,” says the artist. Jelena and Aleksandar have integrated sustainable and ecologically friendly habits into their lifestyle, such as utilizing reusable bags, planting a garden, and composting leftover food, in addition to making a range of gorgeous representations of forest floors.
Paunkovi’s website sells original paintings and limited edition prints, and you can keep up with the couple’s current work by following them on Instagram. .
Jelena and Aleksandar Paunkovi, a married artist couple, make stunning floral paintings that look genuine enough to touch.
Jelena and Aleksandar Paunković: Website | Instagram | YouTube