Daily reports in the form of the portraits - war in Ukraine. May 27-31. 2022

May 27, 2022, Day 93.
There is a lot of excitement about an owl who spent an afternoon on the neighbor's roof. Many photos were taken! We talk about how war touches all activities. The cat is a major topic - the eyes are getting special praise today. It is slowly getting used to Dad and is very much into resting next to Mom. 

May 28, 2022, Day 94.
Mom found new plants and tells me many stories about the cat. Dad tells me that in the old traffic laws in the Soviet Union there was a fine for hitting a goose or a turkey but no fine for hitting a chicken. We discuss Ukrainian words and last names and my parents encourage me to speak Ukrainian more often.  

May 31, 2022, Day 97.
The cat was seen leaving the Dog's house several times already. Mom found a spider and spent her day finding ways to photograph it. But the main topic is that Dad accidentally shaved his beard off :) He decided to shave early in the morning without turning the lights on and when he saw the result it was too late. So he finished the job and then spent some time hiding from Mom and sending me pictures. But all ended well - Mom was not cross with him :)   

Peonies

I painted yellow peonies earlier this spring but lamented their lack of fragrance.  These beauties were full of it - and I had a blast trying my new watercolor plus gouache set-up! (I am still testing it for portability and will report when I settle on something :)

Daily reports in the form of the portraits - war in Ukraine. June 5-7. 2022

June 5, 2022, Day 101.
Parents report that there is a shortage of salt in the country but volunteers brought sugar and flour. And Dad does not eat salt so they are fine for now. There are plans to play chess with the neighbor. Mom scared Dad because she started screaming - and he did not realize that it is the happy scream of someone who saw a crane flying close by. Mom tells me all about the beak, red legs, and wings. 

June 6, 2022, Day 102.
Internet was glitching a bit and we had a shorter call. Mom is concerned that the cat is too skinny. Dad thinks that it is not since it refuses to eat special cat food that they got but is finishing all the other food that they give it. Dad talks about the differences between cats and dogs and how for dogs people are first and for cats - places. I see that Mom is not so sure (she really made friends with this cat but keeps calling it "the dog") 

June 7, 2022, Day 103.
he cat is bringing presents for my parents now. At first, it was a mouse. Now it is a bird. It also started hunting for flies. My Dad saw a mushroom and sent Mom to investigate, turns out there were several and the bounty was made anto a mushroom soup! This and our new ability to play chess simultaneously made this a day full of winnings (p.s. I lost both chess games).

Daily reports in the form of the portraits - war in Ukraine. May 25-26. 2022

May 25, 2022, Day 91.
Mom says that food and all associated with it became a major daily task - everything revolves around it, including parts of our conversations. Dad refuses to eat strawberries and we cannot get him to tell us why. I think this is his way of making sure that we are not talking about sad things - this way we spent most of the time guessing his reasons and he gives long and complicated (and completely irrelevant) answers. 

May 26, 2022, Day 92.
The cat became a part of the family - but they keep changing the name. They went to a store and got it some cat food - this is a new behavior :) And since Mom calls him mostly a dog, the name of the moment is often more dog-appropriate. We talk about family and friends in Kharkiv - there was some very heavy shelling on that day.

Publication in Urban Sketchers: Drawing Attention.

This month's "Drawing Attention" - an online the official zine of the Urban Sketchers organization published a large article filled with sketches from and about Ukraine. 

I was honored to be a connection point between the Urban Sketchers organization and artists in Ukraine, and hope that I will get to draw with every one of them in real life one day. 

 

Conversations with my parents are a part of the article "Diary of War." And there is another interview with an artist from Kharkiv, Ukraine in this issue - Urban Sketching in a Time of War. 

You can read the full issue here:

https://urbansketchers.org/2022/05/31/drawing-attention-june-2022/