Honoring the Artist: Leonid Gervits

Our cover artist, Leonid Gervits, is a busy man - he's an art instructor (teaching at two different venues), a prolific artist and a frequent traveler to other countries, which goes to prove that Mr. Gervits has a lust for life that won't quit.

Q: First, I want to ask where you're from, as I'm sure most people also ask you. I sense there's a story about your country of birth.

A: I'm from the Ukraine in Odessa.

Q: Did your family leave Russia under strained circumstances, as mine did in 1909?

A: I know that my father tried to get to the United States when he was very young, going to Warsaw first. But he was forced to come back and it took him 70 years to finally leave Ukraine. We came to New York 16 years ago.

Q: What were some adjustments you had to make when you first came here? And what do you like best about New York now that you've been here several years?

A: Of course, the language was the most difficult. I only knew two expressions: "Thank you" and "Goodbye." I attended an English course for five months. My students still help me with English, and I help them with their art. As for getting a job, luckily a friend who was teaching at the New York Academy helped me get a position there. As for what I like about New York, it's an energetic place. There's always something to learn, something new.

Q: You now teach at the Art Students League, right?

A: Yes, and I give private lessons at my studio on Union Square.

Q: How do you find teaching? I assume you had some fine art teachers yourself at the Russian National Academy of Art in St. Petersburg.

A: I like teaching and meeting new pupils. Some of the students are from La Guardia Performing Arts High School and they are mostly good. Adults take my classes, too.

Q: You still have time for doing your own work. And last year you had a show in Odessa. What kinds of subjects do you like best?

A: Portraits, still lives, landscape (in the Hamptons).

Q: How do you approach doing portraits? Do you just try and represent someone's likeness?

A: I try and talk with the subject, try and find out what I like about them. I pick what I think is most interesting about them, to capture their personality. If I can't do that, then I just represent their likeness.

Q: Tell us about your style of art and your influences.

A: I have been influenced by Spanish Baroque and I like the early French Impressionists.

Q: You said you liked to travel. Where would you like to go to paint?

A: To the Crimean Sea. I used to paint there. It's sub-tropical with old villages and mountains. But for now, I'm going to Israel in November.

Q: If you weren't painting or teaching or traveling, what would you be doing?

A: I'm doing what I want. If I'm not doing something, it's because I don't want to do it.

- Marion Wolberg Weiss

Mr. Gervits' work can be seen at Chrysalis Gallery in Southampton. His website is www.gervits.com.

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