Here is a photo of a large oil painting that is hanging in our family room. It was done by Russian painter Anatoly Paseka in 1998, and it is a recent gift to us by our friends the Lesters, who are downsizing in preparation for a move to Hawaii. The Lesters bought this work from Anatoly when he was fatally ill with leukemia in the year 2000 and really, really needed money.. Although he was a professional artist who made his living by selling his work, he had held on to this one saying, "it is one of the best in my life." The Lesters had hosted Anatoly in the United States for a while, and he was glad to have us send this work to them. In a letter to the Lesters that I wrote on April 4, 2000, before his death, I reported the following:
In his work, Anatoly says he likes to play with images, especially reflections, because they always lead to a transformation, to one degree or another. This one, Anatoly says, works on many levels. He's very pleased with it, yet I sensed that he didn't mind selling it. The transaction which provided him with much-needed cash was an exchange for something he thinks -- he knows -- is of good value.
Anatoly's style was frequently surrealistic. It is richly detailed, and it looks realistic until you notice details that don't seem to fit together. For instance, in this painting the girl by the pool of water doesn't see her own reflection. Mirrored back to her is a crane -- a Russian symbol of a romantic spirit, a free soul. For those of us still earthbound, we can at least appreciate the transformation of an image into the representation of a free soul.
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