Nature drawing is the foundation of the cycles of engravings and lithographs by A. Sgibnev. He was accustomed to traveling extensively throughout the republic, creating hundreds of lively sketches with a pen, pencil, and marker during his trips. He often held exhibitions in high mountain pastures, field camps, and border outposts. The vast factual material captured in his drawings was creatively interpreted and transformed into compositional easel sheets. Sgibnev also created finished drawings from nature, usually depicting panoramas of mountainous landscapes, sometimes incorporating a human figure into the composition ("The Link of the Kolkhoz 'Kyzyl-Shark', 1960, ink; 'The Breeding Farm of Strelnikova', 1963, marker), in which one can sense an orientation towards translating into print material.
In the drawings of A. Ostashev, a more immediate selection of themes by the artist is evident. There is more freedom in expressing feelings here, but the realistic method of his creativity, based on a thorough study of life, is still clearly traceable. "Having gone through the academic school, he prefers realistic drawing and the construction of compositions according to the laws of linear and aerial perspective in his work. He loves tonal drawing, although he also uses line and hatching. He has compiled cycles of nature drawings from the city of Frunze, southern Kyrgyzstan, and the city of Osh, which served as material for subsequent series of linocuts and graphic sheets. He widely uses nature drawings in his work on book illustrations. A significant place in his work is occupied by drawn portraits in a variety of techniques (sanguine, charcoal, pencil, black watercolor, pastel).
