"Portrait of the artist's grandmother"

(collage and oil painting on cardboard, 18X24, 2009)

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."
Mahatma Gandhi

"What does not kill me makes me stronger."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I painted the above portrait from a photo of my grandmother circa 1940's. I wanted to feel close to her again. The older I get the more I miss my grandmother Shura. I wouldn’t be the same person I am today if it weren’t for her. When my mother left for the States and my father was busy living his own life, my grandmother was the only person to give me a sense of direction. She let me get away with a lot of things that she shouldn’t have, but she also taught me how to become a strong woman who is able to overcome any obstacles in her life.

At the time I didn’t know much about my grandmother’s life before my arrival on this Earth, but as I became older and learned more details from her past I found new appreciation for the optimism she was able to maintain throughout her life regardless of all the hardships she had to overcome. My grandmother never complained and never asked for pity.

Only few people knew about the adversities she experienced in her life before she married my grandfather; they remembered her as a strong woman who always tried to help people. The rest primarily remembered her as a very beautiful woman. I was often told that when my grandmother was younger the heads turned whenever she walked down the street. However, the people who turned their heads to sneak a peak at my grandmother were only able to see her beautiful exterior for one moment, while I was given the privilege to see, remember and appreciate the beauty of her soul for all eternity.