by Frederick Hammersley Fund for the Arts, New Mexico PBS Great Southwestern Arts and Education Endowment Fund, and then Nellita E. Walker Fund for KNME TV at the Albuquerque Community Foundation, New Mexico Arts, a Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts.

and Viewers like you.

Driven to reveal the human side of the Ukraine-Russian war, filmmaker and journalist Genevieve Trainor shares poignant stories about Ukrainians unwavering defense of their freedom.

In the depths of his backyard pool, portrait photographer Scott Audette captures ethereal, dreamlike images.

From painting houses to painting signs, Jeff Williams turns ordinary shop windows into works of art.

It's all ahead on Colors!

RESISTANCE AND HOPE >>Genevieve: We're in a communi about 100km outside of Kharkiv, city of Kharkiv, in a village called more of Morozivka.

I hope I'm saying that correctly and they came to this community because they didn't have anywhere else to go.

There's no electricity, there's no gas here and they're in need of food.

>>Faith: So, Genevieve, you're a filmmaker and a journalist working in Ukraine, and you are actually going back there in a couple of days, Can you tell me what draws you there?

>>Genevieve: Yes.

So I, I felt like I needed to understand what was going on and doing the interviews with refugees who'd left Ukraine who are living in Poland, gave me some insight into their experiences.

But I felt like my own experience and my own understand was really missing to be able to help.

So I ended up going, I had an opportunity with a Polish cinematographer who had been working in Eastern Ukraine in Kharkiv, and of course, Kharkiv is it's a very bombed city.

At first I said, “No!”, I didn't want to go.

I did want to go, but I was scared, so I changed my mind, and that was my first trip, in December of 2022.

[Music] >>Genevieve: One of the first people I met was on that trip, I was with a humanitarian group and we went to this little community in Eastern Ukraine called Niu York.

and it's a frontline community.

It's been occupied.

It's very, very destroyed.

We visited these women who were living in this basement, not even a bomb shelter.

It was it was a fairly musky, damp basement And the stove was on and they had their cats These, older women, I think there were 4 or 5 older women And I met this woman, She was probably about 90 years old or so, and she had never met an American she was really -- she was quite thankful that I was there, and I didn't necessarily feel like I deserved that "thanks" at the time.

But it was, you know, it was about her experience and one of the things that I think that that struck me so much, there was -- I'm obviously still trying to figure out words for how I feel about it, but, She and the other women down there, they were very present in their lives.

I hesitate to say they were happy, obviously, I mean, they've been -- they already faced at this point, about eight years of war.

But there was there was something different in how they lived their life -- it was that they didn't take their days for granted.

That really hit me, it was a really changing moment.

And the woman, who was around 90 or so, when we were leaving, her daughter, who was down there with us, she she followed us out and she said, that they were holding out for hope.

And that struck me -- something, about that just struck me in the way she said it, It was, you know, it's a very simple statement, but I was thinking, you know, these people have nothing, the building that their basement is in, was bombed.

It was pretty destroyed above ground they had been in here for a while and I just -- I kind of -- I broke down and I felt a little bad about that because here are these people, and they're so strong and they're resisting, they're holding out for hope, and I thought like this -- it wasn't what I was expecting.

>>Faith: Yeah.

>>Genevieve: And then that really -- I realized that changed my career trajector that Ukraine wasn't going to be a one time thing for me, that it was going to be a part of my life, and here we are three years into the war, unfortunately.

[Music] >>Faith: There was another inspiring person who's living on the front lines in Kharkiv, Right?

>>Genevieve: Khatib?

>>Faith: Yes!

>>Genevieve: Khatib, yeah, so, he is an artist.

He is an Azerbaijani artist.

He's from Azerbaijan.

He decided to stay in Ukraine, because he told me that to him, Kharkiv feels like freedom.

Despite everything they're experiencing, he felt -- he free there, because he wasn't under Soviet control so there's a fairly significant Azerbaijani population in Ukraine, a lot of Georgians, a lot of people who have fled Soviet-Russian rule.

He's an incredible sculptor, and I visited him with a group called Ukraine Alive They set me up with him.

>>Andrew: So, this is a symbolism of this war So, the beautiful sculpture, the beautiful woman, she's been wrecked, shattered, been murdered and so on, so on, so on, that's why it seems like that, but it's very beautiful and very, very alive.

>>Genevieve: And this was at the end of 2023 when I interviewed Khatib, and we pulled up to his house and all around his house is bombed, his front yard was gated and his front windows were blown out because, I'm not sure which strike it was, but one of the strikes blew out his front window, -- in his house it's just filled -- it's this museum of his work and all of his friends who are artist.

And he's a world renowned artist who decided to stay throughout the fullscale invasion because it's his home.

And he has a four year old daughter, and he said that he -- what he wants for her is safe skies.

And -- I meet a lot of people like the people I'm telling you about in Ukraine, who, they -- I think we call it resilience.

And I've never actually heard a Ukrainian say that they're resilient.

They don't really talk about it in those terms.

I would say that they're -- they feel more of a resistance.

[Music] When I think about everyday heroes who are all over Ukraine, Dima, is definitely one of them.

He started Palms of Peace He was -- as far as I know, from, translation; he was a "Sunbed Technician" before the full scale invasion started, and he completely switched gears and he works seven days a week to help the people in his area they focus on people who are in communities that are overlooked.

And so, we went to this guy's community, he had lived under occupation for several months, and, Russian troops had, unfortunately, shot his children and I think one of his children' spouses, it was three deaths and they wouldn't let him bury his his family.

And those stories are -- they're very frequent in Ukraine, and what what struck me is; He was, you know, he's still holding on and he's still trying to get through his life and he doesn't have the resource he needs, and he was really grateful to Dima and, and the guys that we were with for the help and he was very surprised about it, and he broke down in tears and he told us about his family.

>>Faith: A lot of Ukrainians helping each other, right?

>>Genevieve: Yes.

I think one of the things that's really not covered in the news a lot is the fact that it's Ukrainians are the ones helping their fellow people, and they of course, rely heavily on external aid.

They obviously need external aid but, Ukrainians are working around the clock to help their people and they -- they give what they themselves need and what they -- in other circumstances wouldn't -- you wouldn't think that they would give it, you know, they give -- they're giving others what they themselves need.

[Music] >>Faith: What do you think Americans should know about Ukraine?

>>Genevieve: They're not complainers.

The ones that I've met and worked with are incredibly hardworking and incredibly caring about their people and about others too.

And they do live their lives with this, "Seize the Day."

" Don't waste it."

approach, they're fighting for their culture and their identity and their freedom.

>>Faith: Why is it important for you to tell these stories?

>>Genevieve: I think the human stories are missing in the news, and we hear about the total number of casualties in Ukraine, what I realize is, that number means nothing to people, The bombed buildings don't mean anything to people, it's the human stories that mean something to people, including me, It's the people that I've met that have inspired me, and when we hear about stories like Katib or Dima, I think it changes things, it humanizes the war, and we realize when a thousand people die or whatever that number is, those are lives, those are children, they have children, they have jobs, they have families.

And, we're a lot closer and more similar to each other than we care to believe.

UNDERWATER DREAMING >>Scott: Hey, I'm Scott Audette, and I'm an underwater portrait photographer here in Lakeland, Florida.

[Music] Photography is what I've done my entire life.

I was probably in seventh or eighth grade when I picked up a camera, and I had a teacher in middle school who had a darkroom and showed me how to process or print my first black and white pictures and once the bug hit, that stuck my entire life.

[Music] So, I've worked in primarily pro sports, but also in the music business.

So, I've worked for the Reuters News service, Associated Press News service, still do some work for the Tampa Bay Rays.

I was with the Tampa Bay Lightning for 21 years and I've kind of covered it, seen it all, I've been to the Super Bowl, I've been to the World Series, I've been to the Olympics, you name it, I've probably been there.

The underwater photography is an evolution of a relationship between me and my father.

He was a firefighter, but he fancied himself as a photographer with other water stuff.

And so, really, I picked up a camera -- first underwater, just so that he and I had something in common to do, and then realized not too long into it that I really wanted to do more with it and explore further in the field and in the genre.

Underwater photography gives me the opportunity to create something that's not necessarily part of my everyday life as a sports photographer.

This allows me to go back to when I was a 13, 14 year old kid and first picked up a camera, right?

That's where the excitement is, that's where the magic is, and the passion is creating something that you're thinking about in your head and then taking it and putting it, then on a piece of film, now we're putting it on a digital file, So, that's what drives me to do this.

>>Daryl: It's not as easy as it looks, because you've got a combination of artistic skill and technical skill that he's combining to create finished images that give him the product that he wants to have.

>>Scott: I do the sets, I bring all the clothes I pick out all the fabrics, like, the makeup that Coral is wearing today, I picked out the makeup that I wanted her to wear.

I helped her design the headpiece, like that's part of the creative process, it's not just what happens in the water.

95% of what I do happens on land before we ever touch the water.

My pool, in the backyard, is the ideal location for this.

We keep it 90 degrees year round.

What we do underwater isn't like shooting a portrait above water, like, a lot of stuff has to be adapted, even sometimes created.

So, we're using Canon Series DSLR's still, the downside to underwater photography is kind of the cost of entry.

The housings that you put these cameras in typically cost a lot more than the cameras do.

And then, we do something unique, which is where we're using strobes above water and in the water.

And then, we connected with fiber optics, and radio slaves and specially made cables and boxes we've created.

And so, it's a little bit of a process, but it just kind of comes together now.

>>Coral: Being photographed underwater is very calming, It's very relaxing.

You slip under the water and everything just goes away.

It's like meditation.

>>Scott: Once you get into it and you figure it out, it becomes pretty natural, pretty quickly.

I mean, we were born in a sack of water.

>>Coral: Deep breaths, you know, like, you could work on breathe work if you want to, especially in the professional space, you know, a lot of us are Free Dive certified and things like that, but, for just like your first time, just relax and trust yourself.

It's fun.

>>Scott: We're in an Instagram driven world, right?

I n a TikTok driven world?

This really lends itself to that so we tend to see a lot of younger women.

But as my business has changed, and where I'm working to try to create more gallery oriented stuff, I work with a lot of gay men and gay women, and their openness tends to make this a lot easier in the water because they're trying to express themselves and this water is just another medium.

So, "Born This Way" is a really fun project that I started the year ago.

I had a 15 foot umbilical cord made that goes to a prosthetic belly button that goes to the person.

The idea is basically that we're exploring how that I -- I feel like everybody's predestined to be who they are, in life, and so -- especially in the LGBTQ plus community -- I'm wanting to embrace part of that too and, you know, give them the opportunity to say, "Okay, this is who I am."

[Music] >>Daryl: So Polk County, because we're wedged between Orlando and Tampa, right?

We don't necessarily get people thinking of us as an arts and cultural destination.

Scott's a perfect example of the type of creative artists and creative industries we have here in Polk County that maybe people in some of the larger urban areas around us that aren't aware of, but his works very creative.

He's thinking innovatively, outside the box, so to speak, or maybe inside the pool.

And the fact that he's here in Polk County lends credence to what we're trying to do at the Polk Arts and Cultural Alliance which is make Polk County a destination for arts and culture.

>>Scott: I like to say that a photograph isn't a photograph until you you print it.

>>Daryl: As a photographer myself, I know the power of the printed image, and to see his work blown up, he had an exhibit, and there were some, you know, 10 by 20 banner-sized pieces, were just amazing to see that.

>>Scott: All the pre-planning that went into it, from the makeup, the clothing, the backdrop, the lighting, the finding of the right model, that's the culmination, that, for me, is when I say, "Okay, this is something I'm proud of."

>>Coral: Yeah, look at all the reflections!

I'll put it on my birthday wall.

SEEING THE SIGNS [Music] >>Jeff: So, I've always sort of dabbled in making art and painting.

I painted houses for work for awhile and found myself coming home and wanted to get creative and use the leftover paint to, to make art.

It was pretty tricky -- difficult to sell the art so I found signs, and it was a more practical means of keeping a paintbrush in my hand.

[Music] I saw a documentary called, "Sign Painters", in 2012 and that really opened my eyes to the world of sign painting, and that there's a larger community out there than I thought, It was viewed as a once-dying trade, and I think that movie coming out, it really sparked the interest of a lot people like myself, It took a lot of practice, a lot of painting alphabets that never saw that light of day, and you just kind of have to go through the motions of trying, and failing, to figure out the right way of going about it.

[Music] I really like pulling from old sign books, or just old signs that you find around town.

Whenever I'm traveling, I try to take photos, and have a little collection that I can refer back to.

[Music] The majority of the signs that I make are, hand-painted, reverse glass so they're on windows, and done in reverse, meaning, that they're painted on the inside of the glass.

These can be painted, or in Gold Leaf, and those are our main specialties.

We also offer A-frame signage, fascia signs, wall signs, vehicle lettering, truck lettering, we can paint anything we can get to sit still long enough, but our main interest is windows.

[Music] We generally would start with a design on paper, whether it be hand-drawn or printed reference, from that point, I use a machine called an electro pounce, which is grounded to a metal easel, and it's a perforating machine.

So, as I trace over the design with the stylus, it's electrocuting a small hole, which I can then pass charcoal or chalk powder through, and that's the means of transferring the design onto the surface, whether it be a wall or a wooden panel sign.

[Music] So, when I'm not working in the studio on a sign that could be made here and then delivered to the client, I'm working on site.

I generally show up, if we're working on glass, there's a lot of cleaning to prepare the surface, and then I'll apply the patterns, stick those up, from there, I can start lettering.

I'll generally spend one to three days with the client or in the business.

So, it's nice to sort of get to know the people that work there and get a feel for it all.

>>Alexa: I came across Jeff originally on Instagram, that was my first introduction to hand-painted signs.

It's really just an art that can't be replicated digitally.

You're taking just a few simple words or information related to your business, and being able to make it really stand out, and make somebody who's just walking by see it.

I think, really, any art that's in the public eye is important, and art that's accessible to the community, I think, makes the community a better place, overall.

>>Jeff: I get a lot of remarks from passer-by's, a lot of "you spelled that wrong"; "you missed a spot's" but I've come to grow some thick skin gettin' used to those comments and those remarks.

Yeah, pack up, head home, call it a day.

[Music] It's probably about 50/50 that I'm in the studio as opposed to working on site.

I just sort of pick and choose what I'm gonna take on and know I can only do so much.

Try to bring some help on if the job is big enough.

But for the most part, it's just me out there, little by little, connecting the dots and piecing things together.

[Music] I feel really fortunate to work with so many small businesses and to be my own boss.

Some struggles that go along with that, it can be lonely.

There's not many sign painters in town, here.

Fortunately, there's a great sign-painting community across the country, across the world, and social media, the Internet, has really made it easy for us to keep up with what one another are doing, and staying in touch.

[Music] When I started painting signs, I never imagined that I'd be able to support myself full-time doing it.

I didn't realize that there would be such a great demand for quality, hand-painted signs.

But I feel grateful to be able to, to work every day, doing something that I love, and to provide for my family doing that.

[Music] The award-winning arts and culture series ¡COLORES!

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Funding for COLORES was provided in part by: Frederick Hammersley Fund, New Mexico PBS Great Southwestern Arts & Education Endowment Fund, and the Nellita E. Walker Fund for KNME-TV at the Albuquerque Community Foundation New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts and Viewers Like You.