Julia Gust-Trybbuś - Zagubiona w lesie

This painting is more than a portrait; it’s a record of a moment when the boundary between human and nature ceases to exist.
I chose acrylic for its ability to build clear layers, which allowed me to achieve an “emergence” effect. The dominant palette of deep greens, moss, and black surrounds the figure like a thick curtain. It isn’t an actual forest—it’s more like vertical streaks of light and shadow penetrating the thicket. I painted the face in warmer, flesh-toned hues to contrast with the cool surroundings. I used delicate blurring so that the skin appears soft, almost unreal in the face-off with the raw texture of the background. I like it when a painting has its own structure. Distinct spatula and brush strokes in the green areas give the whole piece dynamism—the forest “lives,” it trembles, while the face remains a still center of this composition.
Nature not only surrounds the woman but becomes part of her features, shading the eye, sliding down the cheek. It’s a metaphor for returning to roots and finding calm in what is primitive and wild.

“Lost in the Forest” is a story about sometimes needing to get lost for the world in order to find oneself in the silence of nature.

Julia Gust-Trybuś (born 1998, Grudziądz, currently living in Bydgoszcz) – a young generation artist whose work balances between realism and dream. From a very young age fascinated by color and form, today for over a decade she has consistently developed her passion for painting. Her works often feature faces—sometimes unreal, transformed, yet always full of emotion and mystery. A characteristic motif is the eyes—the focal point through which the artist seems to invite the viewer into her own symbolic world.

Besides portraits, Julia gladly explores nature themes—landscapes, plant structures, and organic shapes that serve as her breath and a counterpoint to the intensity of human emotions. Her painting combines subtleness with expressiveness, intuition with technical precision.

Each of Julia Gust-Trybuś’s works is a moment of pause—an understated invitation to converse with color, emotion, and imagination. Her painting moves, invites reflection, and allows seeing more than meets the eye at first glance.

Member of ZAP (Association of Plastic Artists).

Julia has been painting for years and many of her works have already found their audience, unfortunately without prior photographic documentation.

Julia is the author of solo and group exhibitions, and her works adorn private collections in the country and abroad.
The artist also develops a unique family project, presenting works together with her father, Grzegorz Gust.