Air Raid Alert

Sept 15 

After sleeping in a bit, I return late in the morning to paint at Superhumans, beginning with another young defender (also named Volodymyr) who, before his military service, was a sports trainer. Each time I look up to paint him, be bursts into a smile. He confesses he’s always been that way, and that positivity fuels his recovery. He lost his right leg near the hip, and aspires to become a physical therapist once he’s reached his rehabilitation targets.

Volodymyr with his portrait

Next is Oleksa, a veterinarian who also volunteered to defend his homeland. I enjoy painting his thick features and braided mohawk. I ask if he saw many animals killed at the front, assuming this might be especially difficult for him as his profession is saving their lives. He shares that he saw many horses killed by missiles. I ask what is in his future and he answers that he will be returning to his veterinarian practice, his office outfitted with special examination tables and other equipment as he lost both legs in combat.

Oleksa with his portrait on Instagram
Petro with his portrait

Lastly, I paint Petro, man who looks like a Roman Cesare. An international delivery driver, when he heard of Ukraine’s full-scale invasion over the radio, he called his company from Spain, saying he was completing his last delivery, phoned his family, then volunteered for the Ukrainian army. Andriy enters the room and sits with us while I paint, telling me Petro’s story, how he was critically wounded fighting in a hotspot in the East when he stepped on a landmine. Both his legs were horribly damaged, he sustained massive blood loss, and flatlined five times before being put into an induced coma for nearly a month, with little expectation he would survive. But survive, he did. He has been instrumental in raising funds for more than a dozen evacuation vehicles for his unit. Before I met him, he traveled to Odessa to track down the surgeon in the field hospital who saved his life to thank him.

I turn to Andriy to share an idea I have that could help Ukraine’s cause, and add “…if perhaps it’s possible…” (read more)