Natalia Kutova shares inspirational messages through her paintings.

“Blue Eyes” features sunflowers, which are a symbol of her homeland in Ukraine. The yellow flowers have blue eyes to symbolize the concept of seeing the world from the best or most positive viewpoint, said the 66-year-old artist.

“I’m trying not to just paint sunflowers, but to say something through flowers,” Kutova said.

The Scripps Ranch residents paintings of mostly flowers and trees in the impasto style are on display in the “Never Too Late” exhibit at Poway Center for the Performing Arts through Dec. 1.

The technique involves applying paint thickly to a surface, sometimes leaving an impression of brushstrokes or palette knife marks.

Courtesy Natalia KutovaThe “In the Eyes of Flowers” painting shows a human eye in the center of flowers to represent the idea that the way we see the world reflects what is in our heart. (Courtesy Natalia Kutova)

Although Kutova has always been interested in art and likes to visit museums, she only began to develop an interest in expressing herself artistically later in life after she had established her career.

Born and raised in Ukraine, Kutova earned a bachelor’s degree in music and a master’s degree in linguistics at Ukrainian universities. She continued her studies at Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv, where she earned a Ph.D. in education in 1992.

She had written several books and participated in numerous conferences worldwide by the time she moved to the United States to conduct research and study abroad as a Fulbright scholar in 2006.

Kutova said she was involved in women and gender studies at San Diego State University while writing a book in the Ukrainian language about the development of women’s education in the U.S. as it related to gender issues.

“At that time, it was just the beginning of womens and gender studies at the Ukrainian university,” she said. “That’s why it was important to have research done in the United States and to have something similar for Ukraine.”

Kutova also taught the Russian language to U.S. Navy SEALs in Coronado, which led to an invitation to teach Russian at San Diego Mesa College.

During her lectures to Mesa College students, Kutova said she not only explained linguistics, but also relations between Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. After Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022, Kutova said some of her students didn’t understand why the U.S. should support Ukraine. So she tried to help them understand the historical, social and political issues that connected the countries.

But the Ukraine war took its toll, Kutova said, so she decided to stop teaching.

On one side, it would have been good to continue teaching, but on the other side, it was so painful to continue to do that because the atrocity of Russian soldiers in Ukraine was awful and not easy to accept, she said. I am an American citizen but I am so strongly involved in life in Ukraine.

Courtesy Natalia KutovaThe “Souls” painting is a dedication to fallen Ukrainian soldiers and was inspired by the quote that a single poppy has the soul of a thousand heroes. (Courtesy Natalia Kutova)

That gave her time to develop her interest in art a journey that began in 2017 when she was visiting the town of Sausalito on the far side of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Artworks in the impasto technique displayed in one of the town’s art salons caught Kutova’s eye.

“The first time I saw an impasto painting I was absolutely impressed,” she said. “My first thought was, I want to paint like that. At the time, I didn’t know the name or style of painting. I didn’t have any idea what that was. Then I started to watch YouTube videos about it and to get Internet information. I started to paint more, and step by step I found materials to use and learned how to use them so I advanced a lot.”

Her interests as a self-taught artist expanded after she broke her ankle by stepping on a tennis ball, which gave her even more time to paint. She said she became a full-time artist during the COVID quarantines and continues to paint at home where her backyard studio has plenty of light.

Kutova has shown her work in more than a dozen exhibits and sells her pieces internationally through such venues as the Saatchi Art website, which is connected to the Saatchi Gallery in London.

Her artwork can also be purchased at the “Never Too Late” exhibit, whose name was inspired by her own experiences becoming a self-taught artist late in life.

“If you have a passion for something, you should just start doing that,” Kutova said. “It gives you so much happiness, so much inspiration and it is such a great feeling. Do not think that you are too young, you don’t have enough education, just start doing it and you’ll have inspiration.”

Courtesy Poway Center for the Performing ArtsThe “Never Too Late” exhibit is on display at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts through Dec. 1. (Courtesy Poway Center for the Performing Arts)

The Poway Center for the Performing Arts is at 15498 Espola Road. Viewing is free for the exhibit, which is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and from 1 to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Viewing hours may be affected by performances.

Parking passes are required on weekdays and can be picked up in the main office within the PCPA.

For more information, call 858-668-4693.