Simona Orentaitė
Simona Orentaitė is a London-based artist creating intuitive, multi-layered paintings in oils and watercolors. Her work embarks on navigating the unknown through ambiguous and nebulous forms, which appear to her through time in brushstrokes and stains of layered paint. As a result of her meditative process, Simona’s paintings remain indeterminate and unfixed. The figures in her work coalesce with one another and the environment – evoking a shared eternal consciousness and the impermanence of material form.
Simona is a recent BA in Fine Art graduate from City and Guilds of London Art School and a recipient of the Idun Ravndal Travel Award. Her recent exhibitions include a three-person show, East of the Sun and West of the Moon (2023), at Soho Revue in London and an online Artsy group show, Nobody’s Home, at Andrea Festa, Italy (2023).
Collect Bean: What does growth mean to you?
Simona Orentaitė: Growth, to me, is when you listen to that tugging feeling in your heart and follow the thread through the woods, not knowing where it will lead you. It's about strengthening your intuition and the ability to be true to your higher self by connecting to the spiritual world around you.
Collect Bean: How does your painting process look like from start to finish?
Simona Orentaitė: I enjoy the lack of control when using watercolors, as it leads to interesting results. I start with a wash of color, working wet on wet and watching how the color shifts over time. Then, I wait patiently for the layer to dry. During this time, I work on other paintings, sketch, or jot down any words lingering in my mind. The flow of paint poses exciting challenges of preserving light in the right areas, especially as most of the time, I don't know what my composition will be or where the faces will sit - it just happens through the process. Of course, that also means many “failed” attempts, but I like it this way. I'm playing with the chaos of how the pigment particles will spread through water and where the water carrying the particles will accumulate. When this play of chance aligns well enough to make a painting, it feels alive - something much more potent and beautiful than I could imagine. That's why I rarely plan, or if I have a rough idea, I keep it open for the beauty of the chance to sing through the work.
Collect Bean: Are there any artists or movements that have inspired or influenced your work?
Simona Orentaitė: I’ve been inspired by the Spiritualist and Transcendental art of the 19th-20th C, particularly by artists such as Hilma af Klint and Agnes Pelton, whose works tap into the invisible. Both of their works have an element of mediumism, of relinquishing control and channeling energies from the spiritual world. I love how Pelton embodies light in smooth oil paintings like ‘The Blest.’ Another artist who had an impact on me since I was young is Mikalojus Čiurlionis, who was also a pioneer of abstract art like Hilma af Klint. He was a visionary Lithuanian painter who embraced our folklore in his cosmic work, often depicting hazy, dream-like imagery of mystical landscapes.
Collect Bean: If you had to describe your work in only three words, what would they be?
Simona Orentaitė: Shifting, mysterious, and feeling.
Collect Bean: What is something that you do to stay focused?
Simona Orentaitė: I often listen to music when I paint; it helps me get in the zone and fully give myself to the work. I make sure to pick something that matches the mood of the painting well. Often, I play Japanese ambient music by artists such as Ken Ichiro Isoda and Tomoyuki Asakawa. Sometimes, I like putting on playlists of Minecraft or Nintendo music, which are also ambient. It’s kind of like background music for the world I’m painting. Other times, when painting through difficult emotions, I like to fully commit to them and play Eartheater.
