To the best of my ability, I’m trying to rebuild memories of art and music from my old cafe. Since my unintentional fallout with Instagram, many of the images are lost. Luckily, brief summaries still exist on the cafe’s website and that’s a start. One of my favorite memories was working with Russian-born artist Lilu Goncharova.
Lilu is a self-taught artist whose medium of choice is watercolor and her favorite subject is people. She’s created many original works, illustrated books, taught drawing and painting, and made numerous commissioned art while living in Russia.
She emigrated from Russia to the U.S. at the onset of the war with Ukraine, horrified by her country’s actions. The striking work she brings to our shores are of faces filled with real human emotions, personal stories, and a unique perspective.
I had the pleasure of hosting an art exhibit at my old cafe with Lilu here in Hoboken in the winter of 2022. One day, she brought me a gift. A thank you for the show, but it was so much more. She created it in secret. While sitting in the cafe, she’d always be sketching one thing or another. Imagine my surprise and delight when I unwrapped this touching portrait.
Portrait of a hairier me from December 2022
I’d never been the subject of an artist’s work before :0)
Lilu continues to show her work in galleries in the New York area. Please go check out her work on Instagram and maybe I’ll see you at a show.
More:
Lilu Goncharova (Instagram)
D’s Soul Full Cafe (closed May 2023)
Getting Kicked Off Of Instagram (Substack)
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