Portrait of the artist and owner of this site: Zita Panyi.
 
Welcome to my site,
Biography

My art is inseparable from the coping after survival and from the gesture and actions of healing and from the love of animals. These transformations have creative potential. Because traumas must be transformed into steps of community building, common development and connection.

In 2003, I obtained my first degree (BA) in teaching with a minor in music. I earned my second degree, an MA, in pedagogy and Hungarian literature in 2008. I’ve been writing poems since 2010.

The post-communist Hungary, where I was born and which is now becoming a competitive authoritarian system, restricts artists' self-expression and existential safety in many ways. As a result, I lost my connection to art for almost a decade and a half. For a long time, I worked with the rehabilitation of traumatized dogs. In January 2024, my husband and I emigrated to Finland.

Since then, I have been teaching myself to draw and paint. The endless pine forests, exploring the archipelago, and the atmosphere of the harbors fill me with joy. I want to leave as small ecological footprint as possible, even in my creative work. That's why oil pastels and water-soluble paints appeal to me.

Artistic vision

It is important to support the abused so that they can become survivors from victims. It is important that they have autonomy and a future. It is important that everyone has their own dignified life.

That's why my vision is to define the pieces of reality, to put them in context, to help us face them. My vision is a society where discourse on human rights is unnecessary because free participation, choice of profession, security, equality, and work-based wages free from discrimination are fundamental and integral parts of public thinking.

The more space we give to creation and the thinking that goes with it, the more people will find words and ways to express their emotions and experiences. They will be able to broaden their horizons and demonstrate their values. Belonging to a community gives joy. Art provides affirmation, friendships and a supportive atmosphere that relieves loneliness. We all want to belong to others. We want recognition. A life full of dignity and opportunities.

I think these are the building blocks of healthy personality development and, indirectly, of societies becoming adults and responsible. I would like to encourage and support my fellow women by sharing my story. To put the importance of women's and animal rights into discourse.

Tap to enlarge the picture and read its story or long-tap to see its technical details.
This colored pencil picture is a portrait of a shiba inu. The background is blank. This dog breed comes from Japan. The head's fur is red, the face is white. The dog's face shows the determination and focus of hunting dogs.

Technical details

Surface: Arches, hot pressed watercolour paper, 300 g/m², 100% pure cotton, acid free, OBA-free
Medium: Faber-Castell 120 Polychromos and Caran d'Ache 100 Luminance color pencils
Fixative layer: Winsor&Newton fixative spray
Image size: 18cm × 26cm

Shiba Inu

This is a watercolor. There are six isosceles triangles built into each other. On the left side of the picture we can only see some parts of other triangle's sides, as well as on the right side. Between the colored parts there are two empty spaces. These areas include tiny triangles that are floating. Sometimes they touch the main triangle. Maybe they will be integrated as part of it? Or maybe they are just breaking away from it in search of their final place?

Technical details

Surface: Arches, hot pressed watercolour paper, 300 g/m², 100% pure cotton, acid free, OBA-free
Medium: Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolor pencils
Image size: 26cm × 36cm

Growth

It is a graphite portrait of an adult bulldog. He looks at the viewer with all the love and devotion he feels for his owner.

Technical details

Medium: Caran d'Ache Grafwood 2H, F, HB, B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 6B
Fixative layer: Marabu Fixative spray
Image size: 21cm × 29.7cm
Time to create: 64h

Willow

This is a graphic. It is a portrait of an adult beagle-mix.

Technical details

Medium: Caran d'Ache Grafwood 2H, F, HB, B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 6B
Fixative layer: Marabu Fixative spray
Image size: 29.7cm × 21cm
Time to create: 56h

Álmos