Natalii Dyka

I was listening to the spring, And the spring told me a lot, It sang a song loudly to me Then whispered secretly again. Lesya Ukrainka

We’re so young in old places and we have nothing but our young faces

Last year, for my birthday, we went to see the ocean, and @wassup_manu took these beautiful photos. We drank wine, danced on the sand, and watched two little girls in matching coats running toward the sunset. It was simple and beautiful—just like us. Thank you, my love, and thank you to all the people around me for this incredible year filled with joy, art, and new adventures. Thank you for every moment when you saw my inner child, took care of it, and never let it disappear ✨

In Ukrainian, there’s an expression “to be on a horse” (“бути на коні”). It means to slay 💅, be successful success, and be in control of your life. So here’s my wish for everyone: be on a horse in 2026 🐎✨

Mixed feelings, 2025 After trying to push through a cold, I finally gave in and stayed home — which gave me a quiet moment to share a little piece of a comic I made, inspired by Fairyland by Alysia Abbott. A story that touched me deeply — full of love, loss, joy, and the quiet bond between a daughter and her father.

Entre les pages et les citrouilles, la magie d’Halloween s’invite à la librairie... Joyeux Halloween à tous ! ✨📖🎃

who are you? ✨

june dump ✨

Happy solstice! Welcome to the season of cherry nights 🌌🍒

A little book that teaches you how to speak ‘wolf’ around the world 🐺🌝

David’s Roman Empire 🏛️ This dude was obsessed with Rome. And it wasn’t just a phase. For David, it was everything — The art, the ideals, the drama.

Finally, I’m ready to share one of my latest projects, created as part of my Master’s in Illustration! We worked on a series of illustrations that could accompany a text about the artist Jacques-Louis David in revue DADA — a French art magazine for young readers. It was a great challenge to find a visual language that would speak to children while reflecting the depth and drama of David’s neoclassical world. One surprising discovery for me was that David’s atelier — despite his reputation as a strict neoclassical painter — was open to both male and female students. That’s why I wanted to dedicate one of the illustrations to his women students. Most of them were almost erased from art history, yet they made meaningful contributions and fought to carve out space for future generations of women artists. For this illustration, I was inspired by The Oath of the Horatii, where the father holds out swords to his sons. In my reinterpretation, David offers paintbrushes to his courageous female students. Another important reference for me was Portrait of Madeleine by Marie-Guillemine Benoist — one of David’s few known female pupils. This portrait is a rare and powerful representation of a Black woman in early 19th-century French painting, and it remains a key work in the history of both feminist and postcolonial art. More illustrations soon!