It's a face only too familiar to Canberrans and now it's been captured permanently in oil as a tribute to the woman behind Garema Place soup kitchen, Stasia Dabrowski.
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Canberra artist Jenny Blake delivered her life-like portrait to Stasia on Wednesday afternoon, but in true Stasia style, the great-grandmother downplayed the gift and her own role in helping Canberra's homeless for more than three decades.
"I never keep photos because I am not proud ... the soup kitchen is a simple thing, people cooking vegies, nothing special," the 93-year-old said.
"And this is why I don't mind no attention or anything. I am the servant of a poor people, I am nothing."
Despite her protests, Stasia took a moment to admire her portrait in the kitchen of her south Canberra home, commenting on the likeness.
"Even the eyes," she chuckled. "And my hat!"
Stasia has famously operated a weekly mobile soup kitchen for the city's needy in Civic since 1979. Her thick Polish accent and no-nonsense attitude are well-known to the people who have lined up for a styrofoam cup of hot vegetable soup over the years.
When art student Jenny Blake was charged with painting a portrait of "someone local who inspires you" as part of an assessment for her Diploma of Visual Arts, she said she couldn't go past the 2017 ACT Local Hero of the Year.
But with no chance of getting Stasia to sit still to pose for the portrait, Jenny was forced to draw inspiration from an image she found on the National Australia Day Council website.
"After days and days of painting Stasia's beautiful face, I felt very connected to her," Jenny said.
"She has done so much for the homeless of Canberra and she is more than 90 years old. She shows us all up.
"We could all be more like Stasia - what an inspirational woman she is."
Jenny described her portrait of Stasia as "a journey" and dreamed during 30 hours of painting of one day handing it over to its rightful owner. With the guidance of CIT art teacher Jodie Cunningham, and a frame donated by Fyshwick business Exhibition Centre, Jenny was able to do just that.
"She was such a joy to paint," Jenny said.
"I thought, if this painting is not too shabby, I would love to give it to her.
"I feel so honoured that it will now live among her treasured family photos on the dining room wall."
