Deutsche Version: Kunst verschenken: Originalgemälde als Weihnachtsgeschenk
Most presents are used up, worn out or forgotten by spring. A painting is different. It goes on a wall and becomes part of someone’s everyday life: the first thing they see in the morning, the thing guests ask about. And an original is one of a kind. Nobody else will ever own the same one.
This guide collects the paintings from Lena Krashevka’s studio in Cologne that make particularly good gifts, from small works under €1,500 to a piece from her most sought-after series. Every one of them is an original, painted by hand. None of them is a print.
Small formats are the easiest way to give art: they fit on a shelf, a desk or a narrow wall, and they can grow into a group over the years.
Illusion #13 is the smallest work in the studio and the most affordable way to own a Lena Krashevka original. A woman’s face appears in blurred lines, broken by bright drops of colour. Small enough for a bookshelf, intense enough to hold a wall on its own.
Illusion #13, 18×13 cm, acrylic and oil on canvas, 2021, €930
Memories of a nonexistent landscape is an imagined landscape in rough, vivid textures, somewhere between turmoil and calm. A good choice for someone who loves colour more than figures.
Memories of a nonexistent landscape, 24×18 cm, oil on canvas, 2021, €1,260
Flame of life sets fiery reds against deep darks and flashes of blue: expressive, warm and full of movement. It works beautifully in a hallway or next to a reading chair.
Flame of life, 24×18 cm, acrylic on canvas, 2021, €1,260
Can’t Sleep is painted in oil on a wooden panel shaped like an artist’s palette, with soft, glowing shapes that float like thoughts on a sleepless night. As much an object as a painting, and a lovely gift for the friend who is always awake when everyone else is asleep.
Can’t Sleep, 20×30 cm, oil on wood, 2021, €1,500
The Body Language series looks at touch: hands, skin, closeness. These small paintings from 2024 are natural gifts for a partner, an anniversary or a couple moving into a new home.
Eternal Bonds shows two intertwined hands on a dark, circular canvas: a quiet image of closeness and of a connection that lasts.
Eternal Bonds, 30×30 cm, oil on canvas, 2024, €1,800
Ripples of Tranquility captures feet dipping into a cool, clear stream. It brings a summer moment into a winter room.
Ripples of Tranquility, 30×30 cm, oil on canvas, 2024, €1,800
Fragile Nature shows hands gently touching fragile leaves: a painting for someone who cares about the natural world.
Fragile Nature, 30×30 cm, oil on canvas, 2024, €1,800
November (30×30 cm, oil, €1,800) was inspired by Lena’s first walks in the park near her new home after she moved to Germany. Isolation #13 (30×30 cm, oil, €1,800) comes from her Isolation series, faces behind plastic film, painted in the years of lockdowns and distance.
Reflection is the series people recognise Lena by: faces behind glass covered in rain, painted drop by drop in thin layers of oil until the water looks real enough to touch. Several new paintings from 2026 are available right now, such as Reflection #55 and Reflection #49 (40×40 cm, €2,400). See the whole series.
Reflection #55, 40×40 cm, oil on canvas, 2026, €2,400
Lena also offers gift vouchers, so the person you are giving to can choose their painting themselves, ideally during a visit to the studio in Cologne. Write to Lena for the details.
Use the “Acquire This Artwork” button on any painting page, or write to krashevka.art@gmail.com. Lena replies personally, confirms that the work is available and arranges insured shipping or a pickup in Cologne by appointment. Write early: every painting here is one of a kind, and once it is sold it is gone.
No. Every painting in this guide is an original, painted by hand by Lena Krashevka in her studio in Cologne.
Yes. Studio visits in Cologne are possible by appointment. Get in touch to arrange one.
See all works or browse by series: Reflection, Body Language, Illusion, Fragments.