Soosh, a 37-year-old Ukrainian artist, didn't grow up with the kind of father she wanted. So she painted him — ten times over, in scenes she wished she'd lived.
The series captures something specific: not grand gestures, but the texture of presence. A dad braiding hair. A dad taking the small corner of the bed so his daughter gets more room. A dad holding a sleeping child. These are the moments that register differently when you've been without them.
Soosh's own father was distant and cold — unable or unwilling to show affection. "I always wanted to have a tender and loving relationship with my own father, but he didn't know how to show his love," she told Upworthy. "I drew what I lacked and very much wanted — to feel loved and protected by my big papa."
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Start Your News DetoxWhat makes her work resonate is that it's not sentimental. The paintings are simple, almost spare. A chess game. Tea time squeezed between piles of work. A piggyback ride. A dad as a superhero — not because he has powers, but because he shows up.
There's research behind what these images capture. Studies show that daughters with actively involved fathers tend to be more confident and successful in school and business. But Soosh isn't illustrating data. She's illustrating something quieter: the feeling of being chosen, protected, and known.
Soosh has a 9-year-old son now. Part of raising him, she says, is teaching him what it means to be a father who is present — who braids hair without complaint, who makes time, who lets his daughter have the bigger half of the bed. "Part of the education for my kiddo, who I want to grow up to be a good man, is to understand what it's like to be one."
That's the through-line of her work: a father's love isn't demonstrated in moments of heroism. It's demonstrated in the decision to stay small so someone else can be comfortable.
