Pictures from Around East Bend

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East Bend, NC, has one foot in the past and one foot in the future. Old, rusted trucks with 300,000+ miles on the dashboard pass by with discordant hums. Large Victorian homes stand proudly beside dilapidated old sheds. A renovated town square is framed by a yellow Dollar General sign, its yellow glare looming strangely in an otherwise picturesque world. It’s almost like an episode of The Twilight Zone, the way East Bend is reminiscent of Appalachia but not quite here nor there, not quite this nor that. Perhaps I only felt that way because it was an overcast day; everything looked slightly haunting. 

Once I passed the town entrance, the land of East Bend was beautiful. The Yadkin River slopes in wide arcs under metal bridges. Long, vibrant stretches of green fields tempt you for a twirl, Julie Andrews style of course. Nearby Pilot Mountain peeks out occasionally between large evergreens. It’s peaceful. It’s quiet. It’s the perfect setting for our next spotlighted artist, Viktoria Majestic. 

A self-proclaimed Impressionistic Traditional Realist, Viktoria is well-known in the local artist community. I’d only met her in passing, so I was nervous that morning. Viktoria has a reputation for greatness and high talent, and with a name like Viktoria Majestic, I was half expecting to meet a long-lost European Queen. Certainly, it felt like I was venturing into a world beyond my station. As someone so well known, why would she agree to spend hours with me, all for the Associated Artists Spotlight Blog? But my curiosity spurned me forward. I needed to know how Viktoria Majestic ended up here -East Bend, of all places. 

“We’d be sitting here all day if I shared that whole story,” Viktoria laughed as we sat on a black couch in her studio shortly after I arrived.

Viktoria’s journey to the Associated Artists of Winston-Salem, Inc. (AAWS) started when she moved to the area about 12 years ago. She’s been a member of AAWS on and off, joining most recently in the Spring of 2024. Since then, she’s been in multiple shows including Elemental Forces. However, her most considerable renown in our association, and perhaps the area, is the workshops she teaches. 

“I’ve always been into art ever since I can remember,” Viktoria said. “When I was little, whenever I saw something -even just a box of colored pencils- I would think it was the most exciting thing I’d ever seen.”

Viktoria is originally from Hungary in Eastern Europe. Art isn’t particularly heralded in modernity, she said. Yes, there are huge museums and extraordinary architecture in nearby Budapest. Still, art is thought of more as an historical foundation than a career to follow.

However, while not a painter, Viktoria’s mother was artistic in her own right. She worked at a custom candy company where they created decorative chocolates and marzipan figurines. Her mother would make the prototypes for molds by sculpting clay. 

“Sometimes, if I asked her really nicely, she’d draw something for me as a child. I always thought it was fantastic, but I am biased.” 

Despite her Mother being creative, Viktoria’s parents were supportive of art as a hobby, but nothing more. Completely neutral, they were happy for her in the way that parents sometimes are about “silly” things, Viktoria said.

“Back then, in Hungary, life wasn’t easy. Everything wasn’t available readily. For Christmas, I always got something small like pencils and crayons.”

Similarly, art was not at the forefront in schools. It was disappointing, Viktoria said. In Hungary, you have the same teacher for 4 years at a time: from kindergarten to 4th, then 5th grade to 8th. If your teacher didn’t appreciate art, you were stuck in an artless, unappreciated limbo for years.

“Everyone thinks and knows that you can’t make a living from art, so you have to do something else,” Viktoria said. “Art is secondary.”

When Viktoria got to high school, she had two options. Travel far for an art school or stay nearby. She decided to attend locally. The school's focus was on economics, which was not ideal for her. Still, Viktoria always found art. After graduating, she worked for the corporate world in the city but painted decorative eggs on the side. 

In Europe, Easter carries more weight as a significant Christian holiday with larger and more historic traditions, Viktoria said. The painted eggs are well-known and famous in retail shops and airports as a keepsake for tourists. 

“Companies would come from Austria and Germany and buy thousands of these,” she said. 

One of Viktoria’s most important artistic mentors is Margit Jakab, the woman who taught her how to paint the decorative eggs. Viktoria still visits her annually in Hungary, and Jakobs still paints eggs even in her 70s. 

Eventually, however, life brought Viktoria to America. 

“First Chicago, then New York, then New Jersey –eventually we landed in New Jersey starting about 25 years ago,” Viktoria said.

In the Garden State, Viktoria founded a mural painting business. It was popular but completely commission-based, she said. So, she painted anything and everything her clients gave her. There wasn’t exactly freedom in it, but it was successful. She did the murals for about 10 years before suddenly stopping –a pivotal moment in her art career and life.

“One day I was at a client's house,” Viktoria said. “And a lot of times, I would be alone because this was an all-day job. But there I was on top of the ladder, and I just couldn’t come down. I was in so much pain, my back was just… I freaked out completely because my phone was down the ladder. Eventually, I got down, but that’s when I decided I just couldn’t do it anymore.” 

That’s when she found the Ridgewood Art Institute. Similar to Sawtooth, Ridgewood teaches year-long art classes. Viktoria took classes on oil painting with a cohort of about 30 other students, she said. They were close, and she learned a lot.

After the classes, Viktoria began studio painting. But it wasn’t enough. The missing profits of the mural business were apparent. So, Viktoria looked into teaching. It worked! She found a balance. But, again, like the twisting and turning of the nearby Yadkin River, her world changed. 

After 38 years in the same career, her husband decided he needed a fresh change. He wanted a farm, a quiet life. They were leaving New Jersey. 

“My dream was up there,” Viktoria said. “We were near the art world of New York. I also already knew many artists there because of Ridgewood, and I was in the Art Students League. All that stuff connected me there.”

With reticence, Viktoria made a compromise. Yes, I’ll move for a rural life, but only if I can have my own studio, she said.

The dream took over three years to develop. They needed something spacious with a second building on the property, but that was almost impossible to find. 

Then, she came to East Bend. 

“The woman who owned this property prior had it on the market for a year,” Viktoria said. “I like to think it was waiting here just for us. We love the nature here. The peace. The quiet. It did end up being a dream come true.” 

While I was talking with Viktoria, there was something about her that I couldn’t find the words for. Timeless comes to mind, but doesn’t quite fit. Something that seems to stick is “old soul.” I imagine that I could swap places with Ebeneezer Scrooge, travel back in time with the Ghost of Christmas Past, and witness Viktoria as a late 1800s artist. She’d share stories and theories with Monet easily. She’d trade technique secrets over tea with Degas in Paris. She has a worldliness about her that would span generations, I’m sure. A bit of a secret edge too, like Mona Lisa.

Now that I knew about her journey to East Bend, we talked about her life here. Viktoria has continued the work she started in New Jersey: studio art and teaching. 

In fact, after moving to NC Viktoria founded the Yadkin River Art School. It’s a large, white building on her property. Yes, it is that elusive second building on the land that took three years to find. It used to act as the previous owner's woodworking shed, she said. Perfect, really. It also doubles as her studio.

“I didn’t want to be a teacher,” Viktoria said. “But the painting alone was not enough, so I had to balance it with something else. I gave teaching a try and fell in love with it. I love it just as much as painting. I love interacting with people who are like-minded and have the same love of art that I have.” 

Before starting the school, Viktoria taught at Sawtooth and the Yadkin Arts Center. But with Yadkinville being a distance from Winston-Salem and sporadic class schedules becoming a problem, her students asked for more consistency. Thus, the studio was transformed. 

Now, nine handmade easels stand ready with various supplies neatly waiting nearby. Viktoria’s work is hung up on every corner as an example of inspiration. Shelves filled with books line the walls. A sign that says “simplify more ” shines brightly with yellow letters. Vases filled with flowers lounge beside decorative ceramics, waiting for the next curtain call, aka, the next still life class. 

“Everyone struggles when they paint and everyone has different issues they need to solve,” Viktoria said. “When I am working through the problems with the students, I am learning about the process myself. Sometimes there are things you don’t even think about until you see them.”

Beyond teaching, Viktoria primarily paint landscapes and still life. Why? It’s not for lack of wanting to explore, she said.

“I’d like to get back into portraiture and figurative, but the problem is time,” she said. “As an artist who relies on art as a source of income, you have to choose. I don’t know if it’s because that’s what people are expecting from you or what, but if you really want to be good at one subject, you have to dedicate most of your time to it. I do limit myself, and it’s not an easy choice.” 

Viktoria’s style is very inspired. Like she says herself, it’s painterly. Her short, precise, detailed strokes show immense love, care, and knowledge of the fundamentals and techniques associated with oil painting. 

“Sometimes a student will come up to me and say, ‘I like that style, can you teach it to me?’” Viktoria said. “Style is not something you teach or set as a goal. It’s more like a signature. Do you learn your signature? No, it develops over time. It’s unconscious and comes naturally.” 

When I asked her about her favorite piece she’d ever done, Viktoria pointed to a piece above my head. It’s a portrait of a little boy holding a parrot on his finger. 

“This is from a Renaissance Fair,” Viktoria said. “I saw this little boy with his parrot, and saw this amazing love for that bird. I hope I captured his emotions.” 

For me, it is evident the painting was older. Her brush strokes were longer and broader. There was not as much small precision or little detail that added up to a larger picture. Still, it is incredibly well done. She’s a natural in art. It’s obvious. I think she could probably pick up anything and be good at it… as long as art was involved.

Next, I asked her about the planning process for her work. It depends on the time of year, Viktoria said.

“If I do a still life, I have to decide a lot about it ahead of time,” she said. “I like to work from the real stuff. I tried artificial and found that somehow it comes back in my paintings. They look more rigid. I can’t really explain it. Because I work from life, and flowers wilt fast, I have to plan it.” 

Before starting, Viktoria situates the lighting, the arrangements, and the subjects. Often, her flowers are picked from the garden outside. When she’s ready to start on the canvas, she begins with a tonal wash and then starts sketching with paint. That’s it. She’ll just keep building layer upon layer of paint until it’s complete.

“What I want people to see in my paintings is the emotion I felt when I saw the subject,” Viktoria said. “Whether it’s beautiful, calming, or peaceful, I want to capture it. Sometimes it’s moments, sometimes it’s moods, and sometimes it’s emotions. A painting is successful if I’m able to show my emotion –it’s not so much the technical part.” 

My head tilted at that answer, surprised. When I look at her paintings, I am usually most captivated by her immense talent and precision. The beauty comes second. Why beauty? Why is that important? Perhaps her answer was the key to the importance of art in our everyday lives…

“In the world we live in, everything is insane. Everyone needs a place where they feel calm, peaceful, and safe. That’s missing today in society, and it’s not promoted. With traditional realism, we can provide that.” 

Viktoria’s piece, Peony Sonata, was recently a semi-finalist at the Art Renewal Center’s International Competition in 2024. A digital copy of her piece will launch in a time capsule with NASA to the moon in September. Exciting and a little different, she said. In addition, Viktoria recently won an Award of Merit at the Elemental Forces exhibition with us, AAWS, at Salem College.

In the immediate future, her spring art class is sold out. However, she is teaching other courses over the Summer.

“The more you know, the more you feel like you don’t know anything,” she said. 

After the interview, we had a cup of tea as we browsed the art in her studio before venturing outside. Her property is bordered by small mountains in the distance, a fact that made me smile. I could see the connection. It is true when you’re out there overlooking a low, rolling hill, you just have to take one deep breath, let your shoulders down a little, and enjoy the peace and beauty. If I could capture it like Viktoria, I would try.

As I drove away that day, retracing my path on those winding roads, I wondered if I knew more about her than I did 2 hours previous. Truly, she surprised me. I expected her to be a little more stuffy, more formal. But no, Viktoria was quite laid back. I liked her smile and laugh; I liked her low voice and slight accent. She was gracious, too, offering me tea and treats, and letting me take home a couple of her decorative eggs from ages past.Viktoria answered my questions openly, but perhaps still a little reserved. She seemed to know what I was going to ask before I asked it, even questions I didn’t prepare her for. 

And as I thought back, there came that special moment where my life felt irrevocably changed. Once I learn about these artists' stories, I inevitably absorb a piece of them; a piece of their story. It happens every interview. With Maria, it was imagination. With Adrionna, it was perseverance. With Chuck, it was an enduring love for life’s fun times. With Janet, it was freedom.

I haven’t quite figured out the piece from Viktoria. I keep picking it up, examining it like a shiny rock, and not knowing what to make of it. That’s not to say her story didn’t touch me or inspire me. It did, absolutely. Maybe that’s the trick to it –sometimes things touch you, and you can’t explain why. 

All I know is this: if you can meet her, you should. Maybe then you’ll know what I mean. 

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For more information on Viktoria, please visit her website at viktoriamajestic.com