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My name is Irene Van Celestine (aka Irina Mezheritskiy), I started painting with oil on canvas for the first time in my life in October 2020 as a way of emotional expression and artistic outlet. The last time I drew with pencil and painted with water color was in my childhood, but in my teenage years life took over and I forgot about my talent for a while…
I was born in an agricultural suburb of a small Russian town in a Central European region of the country and was raised by my grandparents who were a Radiologist physician and a mine engineer. I was always passionate about helping others and liked to excel in things I would put my hands on, so eventually I entered a Medical University in Kyiv, Ukraine at the age of 16. At the age of 21, before I could graduate, I immigrated to the United States and it took me additional 15 years to finish my training and follow in my grandmother’s steps to the fullest.
The idea of expressing my emotions on canvas came to me when my aunt back in Russia got diagnosed with brain cancer in October 2020. I started my first painting, which is a rendition of one of Van Gogh’s “Sun Flowers”, as a therapy and release while helping her remotely with my emotional support and professional advice. My mom, who was her younger sister, rushed to her rescue and stayed by my aunt’s side, while she was undergoing craniotomy to remove the tumor. At the same time, it was the second wave of COVID in Russia. Having to visit multiple facilities to arrange for treatment, running errands and doing multiple chores, my mom contracted the virus, gave it to her sister, and they passed away two days apart in mid-December 2020. I finished my first painting when they were already gone.
With two missing matriarchs so soon and so tragically, I ended up being the oldest woman in the family in a matter of days. The responsibility overwhelmed me, but at the same time I felt more connected to them than I ever was before. That enlightenment resulted in my choosing of the artistic name: Irene Van Celestine, “Irene who is heavenly connected”. That’s the origin of my passion for oil painting and my choice of the signature under each imaginative creation of the heart.
My many other hobbies include writing articles for a couple of local magazines in Florida Space Coast, competing in bikini division of bodybuilding, trekking high altitudes, diving, ballroom dancing and, of course, traveling the world…
I was born in an agricultural suburb of a small Russian town in a Central European region of the country and was raised by my grandparents who were a Radiologist physician and a mine engineer. I was always passionate about helping others and liked to excel in things I would put my hands on, so eventually I entered a Medical University in Kyiv, Ukraine at the age of 16. At the age of 21, before I could graduate, I immigrated to the United States and it took me additional 15 years to finish my training and follow in my grandmother’s steps to the fullest.
The idea of expressing my emotions on canvas came to me when my aunt back in Russia got diagnosed with brain cancer in October 2020. I started my first painting, which is a rendition of one of Van Gogh’s “Sun Flowers”, as a therapy and release while helping her remotely with my emotional support and professional advice. My mom, who was her younger sister, rushed to her rescue and stayed by my aunt’s side, while she was undergoing craniotomy to remove the tumor. At the same time, it was the second wave of COVID in Russia. Having to visit multiple facilities to arrange for treatment, running errands and doing multiple chores, my mom contracted the virus, gave it to her sister, and they passed away two days apart in mid-December 2020. I finished my first painting when they were already gone.
With two missing matriarchs so soon and so tragically, I ended up being the oldest woman in the family in a matter of days. The responsibility overwhelmed me, but at the same time I felt more connected to them than I ever was before. That enlightenment resulted in my choosing of the artistic name: Irene Van Celestine, “Irene who is heavenly connected”. That’s the origin of my passion for oil painting and my choice of the signature under each imaginative creation of the heart.
My many other hobbies include writing articles for a couple of local magazines in Florida Space Coast, competing in bikini division of bodybuilding, trekking high altitudes, diving, ballroom dancing and, of course, traveling the world…
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