Golden Hour - stories about finding gold

Golden Hour. A name used to describe a moment during the day, when the sky shines the brightest, usually before the sunset. The light spills across the land like honey, crowning every face with a halo of blessed gold, like in a warm embrace. And the sky seems to be cradling the light before it slips away into the night.

It feels like the time stands still during these momentary bursts of color. And come to think of it, our lives do quite resemble the journey of the Sun throughout the sky. We wander, we thrive, we shine the brightest or rest behind a curtain of clouds. Then we descend into the night, only to rise back from the dark.

My digital illustration collection "Golden Hour" is a collection of stories about just such golden moments. Human moments, connecting the experiences of beings from different worlds—so different, yet woven by the same principles. For some, Gold may be the moment they fulfill a dream; for others, it may be the realization that it is no longer one. For some, it is hard work; for others, a moment of rest.

It’s a fruit of my work throughout late 2024 and early 2025, with the first piece (“After classes I”) being finished in early September 2024, and the last one (“Son Rève III”) completed in May 2025. My main objective was polishing my illustrating skills before getting to work on my master’s diploma - which will most likely be an artbook for a short fantasy tale.

But I also wanted to create something cute, something „mine” in the process - and wrapping it all up in the form of a project I could share with others. Therefore I came up with the idea of an exhibition.

After my first serious exhibition in February 2024 (“Slow Life”) I have realised something that truly has opened my eyes as an artist - and it was about my target audience.

Art exhibitions are often thought to be over-the-top experiences, hosted by fancy art galleries. And art galleries are most likely to be visited by rich people wishing to buy a painting for their apartment or art students trying to understand what it’s all about.

…Not always, of course - I gotta say it before someone comes at me. Obviously there are more niche, cosier places and I admit, I’m at the point in my career where if an art gallery proposed exhibiting my artworks, I wouldn’t turn it down. I’m constantly trying things out.

But I have noticed that it’s not my dream destination for sure. Having studied fine arts in an Eastern European art university for over 4 years now, I have realised that my work doesn’t fit in neither with contemporary pieces nor with classical paintings made by old masters - and I’m not saying this in a sad tone. I’m saying this with relief. Because wherever this places me, it means I finally have a direction to go.

I intentionally underlined that my university is Eastern European. Art institutes in these countries are known for their strict academism-oriented doctrine, which of course creates fundamentally strong artists, but may feel slightly too limiting to others. Now, I’m from Poland, which is placed slightly more in the middle, and my institute isn’t as strict compared to the agenda of Polish Fine Arts Academies (very happy I haven’t chosen it), but I have still been in the minority of students whose main interest is illustration, especially digital one. I still consider my traditional work and technical skills to be on a good level, though.

Either way, all of it brings me to the final conclusion - I don’t create Art with a capitalised A. And I’m okay with not doing so. My main focus at this moment is teaching, working with youth. That’s why I want to create for them. Pretty stuff they will find appealing, something that will make them smile.

That’s why a library as a space for the display of my artworks sounds literally perfect. You just come here to read, to rest. Perhaps you’re in a rush, returning your book quickly before your classes begin. And then you bump into something pretty, something you maybe didn’t expect there.

Maybe you’re also an artist. Maybe you have been thinking about your silly characters you love creating and writing stories about so much. Maybe you’ve been questioning if it’s still worth pursuing your dreams when a1 is all around, making everything ten thousand times look uglier, including your art in your own eyes.

Let me tell you, friend - we have all been there. I have feared for years that creating fantasy worlds won’t get me anywhere. And maybe it haven’t got me very far yet, but if my 15-year-old self knew that her silly little wizard Zeki and flamboyant, Parisian fashion icon Lionel would be watching over teenagers studying for exams in the Main Library of Warsaw, perhaps she would have a bit more self confidence.

That’s how, searching for a place that would allow me to show my art to a lot of people, but also meeting my target audience, I breathed life into the project I later called Golden Hour.

All forms of light - sun, fire, stars, but made golden. Warm, bright. So strong it makes your emotions feel stronger as well. And then you stop, either letting your thoughts flow freely, or focusing on what pattern they’re creating at this moment.

“May this moment last forever.”

Or “I don’t want to do this anymore”.

The shadows around are softer. And it’s either relieving, or overwhelming. Nothing in between. Because when they’re creeping up all around you and you get used to them, their absence feels foreign.

But this absence also means that the light around you is stronger than ever. Or is it within you? Flowing in your veins, whispering softly to paint a story with it.

I want to tell other human beings they ought never fear painting their own stories. Even if no one wishes to display them yet, even if there is plenty of other storytellers around you.

Perhaps if we knew that our fates are forever intertwined with the divine cycle of what’s above our heads - we wouldn’t fear the night so much.

The only person that can take these golden days away from you is You.