About - ArtByRybalko

biography

No art school.
Three rules.
One style.

“Not trained as an artist.

Trained to measure, line, and structure.”

Hi, I’m Julia Rybalko. I paint in Lisbon, originally from Ukraine, here since 2016. I don’t have an art degree — my background is technical, which is probably why my lines are engineered instead of drawn, and why my color fields don’t bleed.

I don’t rely on chaotic inspiration or loose brushstrokes. I build my paintings like structures. Clean geometric forms, high-voltage acrylics, razor-sharp black contour — compositions engineered to sit between order and tension, never either one alone.

The work always follows the same three rules: flat color, hard edge, thick black contour. What changes is the subject — a face, an animal, a body, an object. I shoot photography in parallel; most of the compositions come from frames I took before they ever became paintings.

I work in acrylic on stretched canvas. Every painting is one of one. I don’t make prints. I don’t replicate sold pieces. I hand-sign and date the back, build the shipping box myself, and send each piece from my studio directly to whoever buys it.

What I’m not interested in: paintings that match the curtains. Art that waits for the viewer to find meaning. My work is the loudest thing in the room by design — and that’s the whole point. If you’ve read this far, you already know if that’s your wall or not.

philosophy

“I don’t paint interior additions. I paint dominants.”

My art is a direct reaction to the boring and the beige. I use high-voltage colors and thick black lines to create images that grab your attention and don’t let go. It’s not about deep hidden meanings; it’s about how a single canvas can change the entire mood of a room.

I believe your walls should have a personality. A painting should be the reason the room makes sense — the center of gravity, not a pleasant addition to it.

THE PROCESS

How the painting
gets built

The Architecture

I start with a raw idea and a sharp pencil. I sketch the geometry until the rhythm feels right. It’s about building a solid foundation where every shape has its place. This is the skeleton of the piece before the color brings it to life.

The Voltage

I use high-quality acrylics to create flat, punchy blocks of color. I layer the paint until the hue is so intense it almost vibrates. Using masking tape for those razor-sharp edges, I make sure the transition between colors is flawless.

The Lockdown

The black contour is where the magic happens. It’s the final frame that locks everything together. I don’t stop until the painting looks finished enough to be the only thing you notice when you walk into the room. It’s made to stand out, plain and simple.