Danilo fled his home and went to Romania with his mother and sister to get away from the fighting near their home and its nuclear power plant. They had to leave their father behind. They are now trying to get to friends in the Czech Republic. Portrait by Rich Wilkie. | Credit: Courtesy
Last year, animator-turned-portrait-artist Rich Wilkie made it his mission to paint 100 portraits of Ukrainian refugees. Now, he’s finally reached his goal and all 100 of his paintings will be on display to the public as a fundraiser, titled Eyes of War — Eyes of Hope, at the Community Arts Workshop (CAW) from August 15-18, with a reception on the final day from 4-8 p.m.
“I focus on expressing emotions and movement in a still image. I painted like this for about a year when Russia invaded Ukraine and images of terrified refugees flooded the media,” Wilkie said. “These children had so much pathos in their faces, I had to paint them.”
For Wilkie, having the proceeds of his art go toward helping Ukrainian refugees felt right, but organizing it was another hurdle.
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