Woman in melancholia, 2004

• Medium
  Oil on chipboard
• Dimensions
  70.5 × 50 cm

This painting is in memory of the artist and painter Ausma Goldberga.

Goldberga was the founder and head of Dundaga Art School, held in Dundaga Castle. She gave her life to the school and to the children studying there, working days and nights, believing in the future of new talents.

One day she said, "You inspired me. I stayed here late at night and returned to painting too."
She taught that "each centimeter of the painting should be in a different color, even if it looks the same."

Ausma Goldberga was my first art teacher, leading my art studies at Dundaga Art School for eight years. She believed in me and prepared me for JRRMV, knowing that strong competition and high expectations would be ahead. She taught me extra hours, late evenings, and even during the summertime, without taking payment, knowing my parents did not have enough money to pay for it.

When I thanked her, Goldberga said, "You will paint me when you become a famous artist."

Thank G-od, her efforts were not in vain. In 2000, I became the first student in the history of Dundaga and Dundaga Art School to be accepted into JRRMV Art College, where I later succeeded.

Years later, I heard the sad news — Goldberga had been forced out of the very art school she founded. She was completely broken and fell into a deep depression. I kept my promise and went to visit her and paint her. She looked like a body without life — no smile, no tears. She stared into a single point and told me that pills were the only thing holding her together.

I still feel heartbroken for her. I hope that my life and my art bring her soul peace and happiness.

I do not have a photograph of the painting created that day, but this painting reflects the sorrow I remember so deeply in her.