Lera Ilinska is a Ukrainian artist living in Girvan since January 2024. A refugee from the Russian war in her home country, she specialises in painting, book illustration, ceramics and sculpture. She is a graduate of the Kharkiv Academy of Design and Arts and has participated in both international and national exhibitions. In addition to being an accomplished artist, Lera is also qualified in restoration and has been involved in restoring many museum paintings and temple iconography. Worked with museum collections in Crimea, at the Vorontsov Palace, at the All Saints Monastery in Odesa, in an Old Believer church, and in women’s monasteries, restoring icons and wall frescoes that had been damaged and painted over during the Soviet era when religion was banned. She continues to support Ukraine by volunteering and raising funds for humanitarian aid and protective gear for soldiers and medical personnel, helping to save lives on the front line.