Living Structures

The Living Structures series explores the invisible structures that occasionally reveal themselves and enable connections between living beings, memories, environments, and communities.

Each work in the series approaches this question from a different perspective: through biological, ecological, cartographic, emotional, or symbolic connections. The paintings do not seek to depict nature literally, but rather draw attention to the recurring patterns and organising principles that appear across different forms of life and systems alike.

I believe that empathy begins when we recognise these connections.

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The painting features shades of phtalocyanine green, iridescent ridge bronze and titanium white.

Technical details

Surface: Arches, hot pressed watercolour paper, 300 g/m², 100% pure cotton, acid free, OBA-free
Medium: Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Aquarelle water-soluble wax pastel, Liquitex acrylic inc, Sakura archival ink
Dimensions: 26cm × 36cm
Year: 2026
Status: Available

Interwoven Stuctures

The painting features shades of mint in forms slightly resebmle spirals and outlines somtime taking the form of mint leaves.

Technical details

Surface: Arches, hot pressed watercolour paper, 300 g/m², 100% pure cotton, acid free, OBA-free
Medium: Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Aquarelle water-soluble wax pastel, Sakura archival ink
Dimensions: 26cm × 36cm
Year: 2026
Status: Available

The Minimalism of Mint

The painting features a scene composed of colorful bursts of grass green, purple, light blue, yellow, and various shades of red.

Technical details

Surface: Arches, hot pressed watercolour paper, 300 g/m², 100% pure cotton, acid free, OBA-free
Medium: Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Aquarelle water-soluble wax pastel, Liquitex Acrylic ink, India ink
Dimensions: 26cm × 36cm
Year: 2026
Status: Available

Smile of a Blackberry

Abstract scene resembling to a forest. It is dominated by ocre yellow and grass green. The abstract froms come to life as little creatures or forest spirits.

Technical details

Surface: Arches, hot pressed watercolour paper, 300 g/m², 100% pure cotton, acid free, OBA-free
Medium: Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Aquarelle water-soluble wax pastel, acrylic marker, India ink
Dimensions: 26cm × 36cm
Year: 2026
Status: Available

Unity

Spiral patterns with wavy outlines. Sometimes they resemble ribbons, sometimes dogs, sometimes bones. As if strung on a ribbon. Their black outlines vary from thick to thin. Red, orange, and yellow gradient bursts fill them. These are occasionally segmented by white lines and dots. Here and there, turquoise appears as a counterbalance, guiding the eye.

Technical details

Surface: Arches, hot pressed watercolour paper, 300 g/m², 100% pure cotton, acid free, OBA-free
Medium: Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Aquarelle water-soluble wax pastel, acrylic marker, India ink
Dimensions: 26cm × 36cm
Year: 2026
Status: Available
Framing: Wooden frame, UV-protective, anti-reflective glass

Next time it happens...

Abstract picture on white background dominated by bluish lilac splashes outlined with thin black ink lines. There are diagonal stripes of lemon yellow and grassgreen in the background. There are small colorful dots all around the painting.

Technical details

Surface: Arches, hot pressed watercolour paper, 300 g/m², 100% pure cotton, acid free, OBA-free
Medium: Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Aquarelle water-soluble wax pastel, acrylic marker
Dimensions: 26cm × 36cm
Year: 2026
Status: Available
Framing: Wooden frame, UV-protective, anti-reflective glass

Out of the Cell

Abstract picture on white background dominated by bluish lilac splashes outlined with thin black ink lines. There are diagonal stripes of lemon yellow and grassgreen in the background. There are small colorful dots all around the painting.

Technical details

Surface: Arches, hot pressed watercolour paper, 300 g/m², 100% pure cotton, acid free, OBA-free
Medium: Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Aquarelle water-soluble wax pastel, India ink
Dimensions: 26cm × 36cm
Year: 2025
Status: Available
Framing: Wooden frame, UV-protective, anti-reflective glass

Revival

Animal Presence

In this series, I reinterpret the traditional animal portrait through contemporary visual means. I approach animals not merely as portrait subjects, but as living entities with their own presence and individuality.

Recognisable animal forms encounter organic and abstract elements, intense colours, graphic marks, and layered surfaces. The tension between realistic details and more freely treated visual elements allows me to preserve the individual character of the animal while moving beyond mere resemblance. The series explores how the animal portrait can express an animal's individuality, its unique relationship with a human, their shared memories, and what animal presence means in a person's life.

The series explores how the animal portrait can become a vessle of visually expressing the unique relationship between animal and human individuals, their shared memories, individuality, and animal presence. I understand the relationship between animals and humans as one of equals, in which the animal is neither a decorative motif nor a substitute for a human story, but an independent living being whose presence becomes the centre of the image in its own right.

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Technical details

Surface: Fabriano Artistico, museum-quality cold pressed watercolour paper, 640 g/m², 100% pure cotton, chlorine- and acid free
Medium: Caran d'Ache Neopastel extra-fine oil pastels, Schmincke Horadam Gouache, Schmincke Horadam Aquarell, Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen fineliner, Sakura archival ink
Dimensions: 20cm × 20cm
Year: 2026
Status: Available for exhibition

Mischief - Szaladin

Technical details

Surface: Fabriano Artistico, museum-quality cold pressed watercolour paper, 640 g/m², 100% pure cotton, chlorine- and acid free
Medium: Caran d'Ache Neopastel extra-fine oil pastels, Schmincke Horadam Aquarell, Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen fineliner
Dimensions: 20cm × 20cm
Year: 2026
Status: Available for exhibition

Devotion - Álmos

Selected Works

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A white Parson Russel terrier mix lying on a mossy tree trunk in the forest. The background full of summer lights.

Technical details

Surface: Sennelier Oil Pastel Pad. Acid free 340 gr.
Medium: Caran d'Ache 96 Neopastel extra fine oil pastels
Dimensions: 24 cm × 32 cm
Year: 2025
Status: Available for exhibition

Felhő

This is an oil pastel painting. In the middle of the picture we can see a lovely, black-and-brown German Shepherd with a serious face lying in a large clearing in the grass. He has come out of the woods and is resting. He is looking at the camera and holding his orange ball between his paws with a piece of rope hanging from it. He is enjoying the afternoon sun. In the background, the deciduous trees are magnificent in autumn. The large dog casts a shadow in front of him, darkening the grass in the foreground. The painting is done in a realistic style. A lot of attention was paid to small details, such as the fur of the animal, the blades of the grass, and the spikes of the ball.

Technical details

Surface: Sennelier Oil Pastel Pad. Acid free 340 gr
Medium: Caran d'Ache 96 Neopastel extra-fine oil pastels
Dimensions: 24cm × 32cm
Year: 2025
Status: Available for exhibition

Rex

This is pastel painting in realistic style. In the middle of the picture we can see a woman. She looks up from the bottom. She's wearing a grey striped sweatshirt. She has a short grey hair and her face is cheerful. She has brown eyes and her lipstick's color is very vibrant red. In the background there is a green circle as an abstract element. It gives contrast to the red color and gives elegant atmosphere for the painting.

Technical details

Surface: Arches, hot pressed watercolour paper, 300 g/m², 100% pure cotton, acid free, OBA-free
Medium: Caran d'Ache Neoart Permanent Wax Oil Pastel and Caran d'Ache Luminance Colored Pencils
Dimensions: 18cm × 26cm
Year: 2025
Status: Available

Self-portrait

Technical details

Surface: Sennelier Oil Pastel Pad. Acid free 340 gr.
Medium: Caran d'Ache Neopastel extra-fine oil pastels
Dimensions: 40cm × 60cm
Year: 2025
Status: Available
Framing: Wooden frame, UV-protective, anti-reflective glass

Mansplaining - just the first step

Technical details

Surface: Ampersand aquabord, clay-coated panel, acid-free, archival
Medium: Schmincke Horadam Gouache
Dimensions: 24cm × 30cm
Year: 2026
Status: Archived

A Bouquet of Patriarchal Charm

Technical details

Surface: Ampersand aquabord, clay-coated panel, acid-free, archival
Medium: Schmincke Horadam Gouache
Dimensions: 24cm × 18cm
Year: 2025
Status: Archived

Date

This is a wax oil pastel painting. It shows an emotional looking young dachshund dog peeking from behind a tree trunk. She is holding on with his paws to get a better view. The figure of the dachshund is cartoon-like. His fur is in shades of blue. Her shadier parts are purple and her chest is a reddish brown. Her ears are fluttering. We can see her face, her front paws and her chest from behind the tree trunk. Around her, yellow, blue and reddish-brown spots and circles are floating in the air.

Technical details

Surface: Fabriano cold pressed watercolour paper, 300 g/m², 25% cotton, acid free
Medium: Caran d'Ache Neoart 100% lightfast wax oil pastels and Caran d'Ache Luminance colored pencils
Dimensions: 14.8cm × 19.5cm
Year: 2025
Status: Archived

Blue Mood

This is an abstract mixed-media painting. We can see a tree on the picture. The tree's canopy is yellow and deep red. There are some dark green lines around the tree. They are floating in the air. We can also see some tiny, colored elements floating in the air. These element's outlines are irregular. Their color is mostly red and different shades of green.

Technical details

Surface: Fabriano cold pressed watercolour paper, 300 g/m², 25% cotton, acid free
Medium: Derwent Inktense paint, Derwent Inktense watercolor ink pencils, Stabilo Point 88 Fine liner red and black
Dimensions: 10.5cm × 14.8cm
Year: 2025
Status: Archived

Summer Explodes with Green

This is an abstract watercolor painting. The shapes in the painting are rendered with blotches and strong brushstrokes. The colors are vibrant. Two poplar trees draw attention from the bluish-turquoise background. Their lush canopies evoke the colors of fire. Yellow, orange, and red colors flow toward the sky. Occasionally, a dark brown and white branch emerges from among them.

Technical details

Surface: Fabriano cold pressed watercolour paper, 300 g/m², 25% cotton, acid free
Medium: Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolor pencils
Dimensions: 10.5cm × 14.8cm
Year: 2023
Status: Archived

Flames of Summer

We can see a grumpy seagull with strong red outlines on this picture. The background is sun yellow with some colorful flying particles. There are three hearts in the background. The seagull stands on many-many vibrantly colored particles like he would stand on a rock. The bird was drawn in ink only, which makes it stand out sharply from its surroundings.

Technical details

Surface: Fabriano cold pressed watercolour paper, 300 g/m², 25% cotton, acid free
Medium: Derwent Inktense paint, Derwent Inktense watercolor ink pencils, Uni Posca White acryl marker, Sakura Pigma Brush Pens with archival ink, Faber-Castell Pitt artist pens with India ink
Dimensions: 14.8cm × 10.5cm
Time to create: 10h
Year: 2025
Status: Archived

Viktor, the Hungry Bird

This drawing was done with permanent wax oil pastels and wax-based colored pencils. This is a stylized landscape. In the background you can see the sun. Colored yellow and orange. Its rays form stripes of different thickness. Wavy lines on the bluish and reddish rocks separate the shades as the sunlight reaches their highest points. On the right, we can see a big tree with a large canopy. But we can't see the contours of the leaves. The entire canopy is spring green. The outlines are darker green. To the left, we can see some triangular pine trees that are receding. Behind the trees is a large mountain. Its darkest color is dark purple. Below the dark purple, we can see a bright red stripe. This symbolizes the desert.

Technical details

Surface: Arches, hot pressed watercolour paper, 300 g/m², 100% pure cotton, acid free, OBA-free
Medium: Caran d'Ache Neoart 100% lightfast wax oil pastels and Caran d'Ache Luminance colored pencils
Dimensions: 26cm × 36cm
Time to create: 12h
Year: 2025
Status: Available

Where the Desert Ends

This artwork is an abstract watercolor painting. On the top of the picture we can see a red sun surrounded by a blue and black contour line. From the part under the sun to the bottom of the picture we can see mountains, some rivers, fields and green forest's strips. But in such a way that brown, blue, yellow, green and red stripes flow into each other. The whole thing undulates like the sea. The top third of the picture is left white. Sparkling white. There are three small birds painted in black, they are heading to the left. A fourth larger bird is heading to the right.

Technical details

Surface: Arches, hot pressed watercolour paper, 300 g/m², 100% pure cotton, acid free, OBA-free
Medium: Talens watercolor
Dimensions: 26cm × 36cm
Time to create: 7h
Year: 2024
Status: Available
Framing: Wooden frame, UV-protective, anti-reflective glass

Lack of Purple

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
Dimensions: 26cm × 36cm
Year: 2024
Status: Available
Framing: Wooden frame, UV-protective, anti-reflective glass

Growth

This is an oil pastel painting. On the left side we can see a part of the trunk of a birch tree. Some branches lean to the right. The sky is sunny and blue and the winter sun shines white. It shines through the tree branches. In the middle of the picture we can see a strip of distant forest with a church tower. In the foreground we can see a thick layer of snow. A reddish-brown grassy and bushy area appears among the snowdrifts.

Technical details

Surface: Talens oil colour paper, 300 g/m²
Medium: Caran d'Ache 96 Neopastel extra-fine oil pastels
Fixative layer: Talens Varnish for oil pastels
Dimensions: 29.7cm × 21cm
Year: 2024
Status: Archived

Winter Field

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
Dimensions: 18cm × 26cm
Year: 2024
Status: Sold

Shiba Inu

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
Dimensions: 21cm × 29.7cm
Time to create: 64h
Year: 2018
Status: Sold

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
Dimensions: 29.7cm × 21cm
Time to create: 56h
Year: 2018
Status: Archived

Álmos

Portrait of the artist and owner of this site: Zita Panyi.

About me

I am a Hungarian contemporary visual artist living and working in Finland, working primarily with mixed media. Creating art became a defining and survival-supporting part of my life relatively early on. Over several decades, my thinking has been shaped by personal trauma, as well as by my experiences relating to social justice, women’s and animal rights, and human dignity.

I was born in a post-communist country, which for a long time had been increasingly evolving into a hybrid regime. Self-expression and existential safety of artists were restricted in many ways. As a result, I lost my connection to art for almost a decade and a half, although writing poetry has been an important part of my life since 2010. For a long time, I worked with the rehabilitation of traumatized dogs. In January 2024, my husband and I emigrated to Finland.

The change opened up a new possibility for me to begin exploring the questions above through the language of visual art. Since 2024, I have been studying drawing and painting independently, developing my visual language through continuous practice and experimentation.

My vision

We all want to belong to others. We want recognition. A life full of dignity and opportunities. I want there to be more creativity, color and free self-expression in the world than oppression.

I believe that art has the power to make visible the connections that we often fail to notice in everyday life. My own experiences have taught me that empathy, human dignity, and freedom are unfortunately not inherent building blocks of our lives, but foundations that we must reinforce again and again.

As an artist, I therefore support the creation and preservation of a world in which every decision concerning our own bodies, our reproductive rights, our education and career choices, our economic security, and our life journeys as a whole is understood in terms of individual autonomy, empathy, human dignity and equality, animal welfare, and a responsible relationship with nature. A world in which these are not separate values, but integral parts of the same shared system.

Through my work, I do not seek to provide answers, but to create visual experiences that invite the viewer to pause, to feel the tension and difference between chaos and order, and to question their own relationship with nature. And to question the "traditional" social arrangements and mechanisms that humanity has constructed in the past, which are not necessarily viable in the present.

Artist statement

My work begins with the observation of nature and with personal experience. Through organic forms, abstraction, recognisable motifs from nature, and the layering of different materials, I explore the forms and structures emerging from living systems.

For me, nature is not merely a subject, but a way of thinking. Its recurring patterns, structures, adaptivity, and continuous transformation inspire my visual thinking. In my work, the coexistence of the organic and the geometric, the realistic and the abstract, the detailed and the loosely painted, the subtle and the intense creates tension. Vivid, high-energy colours, graphic marks, and layered surfaces draw attention not to an exact reproduction of nature, but to its transforming, interwoven structures and the sensations they evoke.

I work with watercolour, gouache, water-soluble wax pastel, and oil pastel, as well as other water-based and graphic media. Consciously utilising the different behaviours of the materials and their effects on one another. Oil pastel is particularly important to me because of its depth and tactile surface presence: it gives my work textural characteristics that I cannot create in the same way with other media. I particularly enjoy working on 640 gsm, 100% cotton, acid-free paper, which is not merely a support for the work but an integral part of the artwork itself. I consciously seek materials and processes that allow me to pursue an artistic and archival practice with the smallest possible ecological footprint. This includes the use of solvent-free, water-soluble materials, as well as avoiding varnishes and fixatives, choosing non-toxic materials, colors, and pigments, and using appropriate framing and UV-protective, anti-reflective glass to provide long-term protection for the works.

My works create visual spaces that simultaneously carry the traces of intuition and conscious decisions, while leaving room for the viewer’s own interpretation and possibility of connection.

Education

  • Rehabilitation Dog Trainer - Hungarian OKJ qualification
  • Dog Trainer - Hungarian OKJ qualification
  • Veterinary Assistant - Hungarian OKJ qualification
  • Dog Massage Therapist - Hungarian programme-accredited professional training
  • 2008 - MA in pedagogy and Hungarian literature, University of Pécs
  • 2003 - BA in Teacher Education, with a minor in Music, The Successor Institution of the Illyés Gyula Faculty of Education, University of Pécs

Exhibitions

Contact

Should you have any questions about my artworks, have a commission idea in mind, or be interested in purchasing a piece, feel free to contact me through the form below.