We are very happy to introduce you our colleagues who have interesting and creative hobbies through the X App. One of them is Daniela Durkáčová, who has been working in ironworks for 25 years, currently in the department of the director of VTZ (reserved technical equipment and inspection of steel structures).

Her hobby is drawing and painting, especially portraits. How did she discover such a talent in herself? "Once, during maternity leave with my third son, which was probably in 2014, I was  bored  and I said to myself that I would try to draw something. Specifically, his left hand.  I drew with a pencil, I also shaded it and I quite liked it. So I decided to try something else. I started drawing simple portraits based on models, completely strangers at the beginning."

Do you know him?

This was followed by portraits of action heroes, film characters, members of metal bands that her husband likes, famous people such as Salvador Dali, Albert Einstein or Nikola Tesla, and portraits with religious themes, which she gave to her in-laws.

Portraits of family members also began to increase (the photo shows a portrait of Daniela's husband, who also works in ironworks. Those who know him personally will certainly recognize him in this picture). 

She sold Dalí!

He also draws to order – for his friends and colleagues. She does not sell her paintings, except for the portrait of Salvador Dali, which she sold for 10 euros , because the future owner liked it very much and wanted to acquire it very much.

"I don't consider myself a painter, it's just my hobby," says Daniela: "It's not easy to paint a portrait and capture the light as it hits a human face. Paint the right background shadows, facial contours... It is difficult to paint children, they have very tiny noses and at the same time their eyelids are still sunken in the face.  As they grow, facial expressions become easier, the face becomes more mature and can be better captured on canvas. Even old people find it difficult to paint, they have wrinkles, pigment spots, moles that grow with age."

Studio in the children's room

In 10 years, she has tried several techniques – charcoal drawing, dry and greasy pastel, oil painting and acrylic painting. Abstract paintings and paintings of flowers, especially roses, were added to the portraits.

During this period, she drew at least 40-50 paintings. He picks up a brush or pencil several times a month. It takes a day to draw a quick sketch with a pencil, two or three days with an acrylic, and if it's a larger-sized color portrait, it takes a week.

Daniela usually works in the children's room, where she first enlarges a photo on the computer, according to which she wants to draw a portrait. The family is understanding of her hobby: "When I paint, I always look at the painting and I no longer see flaws or deviations from what is on the original. My sons and my other half can warn me when they notice a shortcoming and I am grateful to them for that."

She inherited her talent from her grandfather

However, neither of the sons has yet discovered the talent for painting. When they were little, they loved to draw. Not anymore. The middle son Riško, who enjoys music - he plays the electric guitar, has an artistic talent. Daniela inherited her talent from her grandfather. He worked as a bricklayer, but his hobby was painting, especially nature. "I have no idea where all his paintings ended up. I'm very sorry that I don't have one."

When asked where Daniela would like to move in her work, she answers as follows: "I would like to get a little closer to the paintings of the Polish painter Zdzisław Beksiński. I like his work precisely because he had no models, all he needed was music, brushes and canvas and he knew how to paint his ideas and dreams."

Inspiration for gifts under the tree is still missing

Christmas is coming, does she already have gifts drawn that would make her loved ones happy?

"Not yet. Last year I made paintings using the one-stroke technique. They depicted, for example, an angel or Jesus, the holy family. These gifts made loved ones very happy. Now I don't even have an idea, but I believe that I will come up with something and make it by Christmas. For the in-laws, it will again be something with a religious theme."

Daniela does not plan to make a living from painting. She keeps it as a hobby to relax from family and work obligations, as fun and go to a dimension where she can relieve stress. And then, she is happy when her portraits are successful and the recipients are pleased: "I also drew portraits of some of my colleagues and since they didn't complain, I believe they liked them. "