REDONDO BEACH, Calif. — Claudia Kazachinsky’s favorite subject to paint is sunflowers, and lately, the South Bay artist has spent more time adding hues of yellows, oranges and greens to her art pieces.
What You Need To Know
- Claudia Kazachinsky, a watercolor artist, is using her talent and love for sunflowers to send donations to the World Central Kitchen
- The World Central Kitchen is currently providing comforting meals to displaced Ukrainians abroad and within the country, according to Chef Jose Andres via an interview with CNN
- Kazachinsky has already donated about $3,000 so far
As the pigment fills a blank canvas to show a vase holding the bright golden flower, she has found more comfort in realizing it now holds more meaning than she first thought.
“Sunflowers [are] the national flower of Ukraine, and the interesting thing is I’ve always loved painting sunflowers. So now, I have hundreds of sunflower paintings,” Kazachinsky said.
After seeing news reports and video clips displaying the destruction and displacement abroad as tension between Russia and Ukraine continue, Kazachinsky said she felt compelled to help displaced Ukrainians in her own way.
“When I saw what was happening with Ukraine, I really felt that I wanted to help. My grandparents were Ukrainians. They immigrated to Argentina in the early 1900s. I have the roots. I said to my husband, when I looked on the TV and I saw the people, I could see myself,” she said.
She decided she would paint as much as she could to raise funds to help Ukrainians in need, she said, just like how she has supported other causes in the past.
So far, she has donated more than $3,000 to the World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit founded by Chef Jose Andres that is helping to feed displaced Ukrainians abroad.
The heroic effort to bring comfort as the attacks continue also comes with risk. Andres described his organization’s experience in a recent interview with CNN.
“We have hundreds, 260 restaurants or catering companies or food trucks," he said.
Men and women are fighting the war the only way they know how, which is with food, Andres said.
"Making sure the people that need it have that plate of food," he said.
While Kazachinsky is heartbroken to see the impacts on Ukraine through news reports, she said she is focusing her efforts into her art.
“Knowing that something that I can do, I can create a painting and somebody is willing to buy it and the money is going for a good cause. It makes me feel good,” she said.
That is why she plans to keep painting each day. Kazachinsky said she would continue to donate proceeds from her art sales to the World Central Kitchen.
Her latest paintings can be found on her website.