Ira with Frosya

At first glance, it’s a quiet, almost domestic image: a woman gently holding a small dog in her arms. But beneath the surface lies a story of immense, unspoken love - a lifetime of giving, of choosing care over recognition, presence over possession. This piece is among the artist’s most personal and emotionally charged portraits. Begun in 2018 and completed in 2019, it was made during a poignant period: the small dog nestled against the aunt was already gravely ill. Finishing the drawing became an act of love and remembrance - a way to preserve on paper what was rapidly slipping away.

The aunt’s image transcends the confines of a family portrait. To the artist she is a second mother. She never had children of her own, a quiet sorrow intertwined with a profound, radiant joy: her life was devoted to those around her. She raised her nephew and his sister as if they were her own and felt truly fulfilled only when she could care for and protect others. Dogs, too, were her “children,” constant companions through many years. Each held a special place in her heart, and this last one was especially dear. The dog is therefore no accessory but a key to the sitter’s inner world. Its presence reveals the aunt’s gentle, self-sacrificing love and her need to be close to someone she can shield. In the animal’s gaze is real life; in the woman’s posture, the quiet strength of one who has endured much yet preserved tenderness.

The artist chose dark-gray toned paper, where graphite and white chalk act like twin beams of light. Soft pencil strokes model the forms without excess detail, while pinpoint touches of chalk pull areas of illumination to the fore. Outlines dissolve toward the edges, creating a sense of breath and underscoring the central idea of an evanescent moment. The absence of intense color heightens the emotional contrast: warmth is held in half-tones, with isolated ocher and pink accents added in dry pigments to emphasize living heat.

The portrait has become one of the most recognizable and beloved works among viewers, perhaps because it speaks to what matters most- the love we give and receive, and the people who become family not by blood, but by heart.