An aquatic meal with Olga Belka – taking art to new depths

by Baz Daniel

I am sitting at the edge of the beautiful Kata Rocks infinity pool at sunset with the world’s only underwater portraitist, who as far as I can inform, might be also a mermaid. Her name is Olga Belka and she is as attractive and unique as you may anticipate of somebody with such a beautiful and unique declare to fame!

The daughter of a Russian military officer who grew up in Moscow, Olga is a kind of slim, blond, statuesque Russian beauties, who takes your breath away when you meet her. Something she has in widespread with the sunset at the Kata Rocks infinity pool, perched tantalisingly on its rocky promontory overlooking the chic beauty of the Andaman Sea between Kata and Kata Noi Beaches, with magical Boo Island off to the north.
When I first met Olga at her latest exhibition in Aquaria Phuket which runs till the end of January 2022, I just knew that for an inventive mermaid of her sensibilities Kata Rocks at sunset can be the final word alternative for a meal and a chat.
Kata Rocks is the final word ocean-side, super-luxe resort in the region, so it’s no shock that it has won over fifty international property and hospitality awards together with ‘Best Apartment within the World’ on the London awards and “Asia’s Leading Villa Resort” on the 2015 World Travel Awards.
The vitality and aura of the ocean is in all places around Kata Rocks and embraces the cavalcade of excellent villas and flats which cascade down the steep rocky headland towards the pulsating Andaman itself. The luxurious white constructions of Kata Rock’s award-winning design even paying homage to the proud superstructure of a Superyacht, while the allure and effectivity of the workers as they served us our sun-downers, felt like being pampered by the crew on board a billionaire’s ocean-going toy!

Lambent green illumination rose from the squid-boats on the horizon provoking Olga to say; “Have you ever seen the mating dance of the male Cuttlefish (Sepia apama) as he, or quite ‘they’, try to entice a solitary female’s consideration and settlement to mate? โซล่าเซลล์ราคาถูกคุณภาพดี ’s essentially the most unique and glorious dance in nature, as the male changes colour, form and texture, all of the while gyrating and dancing madly about attempting to draw the feminine.”

As a scuba-diving fanatic, I’d in reality had the big privilege of witnessing this show whereas diving within the Similan Islands and I couldn’t help thinking that it was most likely the sort of adoring male courtship show to which Olga was quite used to herself!” Olga had a number of forebears who have been artists, but her dad and mom needed her to pursue a career which was more predictable and profitable.
So, she quietly sketched and painted in secret whereas rising up, then at age 17, introduced that she was going to study art and design at college in Moscow. Daddy was not amused by this, but I got the strong impression that the formidable artistic force that’s Olga Belka, is to not be trifled with in such matters!

As if reading my mind, Olga said… “After completing a six-year diploma course and working illustrating childrens’ books in Moscow for some time, I woke one frozen morning and determined that I may now not stay in the cold. I went to a travel agent and asked for a ticket to a heat, tropical location, which I might enter with a Russian passport.
The agent stated Thailand was the finest choice and so after telling my shocked family, I flew into Bangkok nine years ago. I didn’t know anyone there, but I managed to find work as an illustrator and started to settle in. Then in the future I found that direct flights from Thailand to Sri Lanka had started, so I instantly bought a one-way ticket to Colombo to go diving, again without knowing a soul, or something in regards to the island.”

Sri Lanka was in fact initially recognized by the Arab title of ‘Serendip’ which provides us the adjective ‘serendipitous’ meaning ‘occurring by happy chance’, which is an apt description of the romantic adventures of our eccentric Mermaid Olga, who went on to qualify as a scuba teacher, returned to Phuket to work in diving around the Andaman, then travelled to Egypt and the Maldives on additional diving escapades.
“I was always fascinated by the intensity of colors and varieties underwater and loved the peace and tranquillity of being isolated from I-phones, on-line media and even dialog. There’s one thing so soothing and complete concerning the sub-aquatic world, that in the future I had the concept; ‘why not apply my love of artwork to depicting this other-world? Why not just begin painting underwater?’”

By now a sensational maritime-themed supper had arrived including the freshest Andaman ceviche and steamed Thai snapper for me and a tangy tuna tartare for Olga, served in a surreal Salvador Dali-styled wood hand! This was highly acceptable, as Olga had simply advised me that Salvador Dali was her best inventive affect and because the entire interview was, for me no much less than, becoming utterly surreal!
I asked Olga concerning the inherent challenges of her wave-breaking innovation of taking her painting underwater. “I got down to seize not solely the brilliant thing about the underwater world, but in addition its vitality and the emotions and feeling that it stimulates in me. I usually paint in sittings of as a lot as three hours, carrying full scuba gear, as does my topic if I am doing a portrait. Each painting takes me up to six such dives and I use specially-made waterproof paints, which could be utilized underwater, whereas being completely innocent to the aquatic surroundings.”

I put it to Olga that she was actually a efficiency artist by which she herself was an integral a part of the artwork, creating an alchemy combining diving and the underwater world with painting, color and expression. And in the center of it all is the beautiful, enigmatic mermaid named Olga.
She seemed to love this summation and mentioned; “In European folklore, which greatly influences me, mermaids are renowned as beautiful and harmful creatures and I wanted to convey the riddle of their being in my paintings.”