A long journey from the Ukraine to Sandy, Utah

Describing himself these days as "a one-eyed painter," Alex Hoshovsky has been a wanderer throughout his life.

Born in the city of Lviv in the Ukraine in 1926, Hoshovsky was living with his aunts when World War II broke out. Although he was a high school student, he skipped class often to (among other things) carry messages between various resistance groups. His spotty attendance record led to him being accused of being a resistance member by the Germans. He was arrested and sent to labor camps in Austria and Germany where he finished out the war.

After the war, Hoshovsky spent a couple of years in a refugee camp where he finished high school. He had no interested in returning to his native Ukraine which was then occupied by the Russians. So he escaped from the camps, attending college in Salzburg, Austria until 1948 when he got a sponsor to help him come to the United States.

Arriving in Duquesne, Penn. he immediately began to look for work in the town's steel mills. Unsuccessful there, he signed up for the Army and within six hours was processed and given a ticket to San Francisco.

Hoshovsky spent the next 13 years in the Army and Air Force working in intelligence, information sciences and administration while he received his bachelor's degree in philosophy, master's in financial management and doctorate in public administration

During these years he met his future wife Marie, a Minnesota native, and they had four children: Greg, Mark, Naida and Paul.

At 55 Hoshovsky retired.

"Next thing it was 'California Here I Come,'" he said.

That began many years of what Hoshovsky called "the life of a drifter" as he and Marie traveled the U.S. and the world. "We covered America side to side, upside down - every darn road," he said.

During those years Hoshovsky took up painting. Told by his fourth grade teacher that he'd never be an artist, that single failure rankled him his whole life. His first effort was a copy of a painting of Yosemite Valley by John Moran. Pleased with the result, Hoshovsky embarked on a path that led to nearly 40 years immersing himself in every aspect of watercolor painting.

In 1996 the couple came to Utah and purchased a home in Sandy, primarily for the basement room with huge picture windows framing a view of the Wasatch Mountains, Hoshovsky said.

"Utah is the perfect visual combination of what America looks like," he said.

Ever active, they looked around to become involved in their community. The Sandy Senior Center opened in August 1997 and the Hoshovskys soon became regular patrons and class instructors, sharing their skills with their peers over many years.

"Alex has been dynamic in providing leadership to the center. A lot of what has happened here is because you had people like Alex driving things," Center Director Ken Donarski said. "He's very valued at this center."

Over the years Hoshovsky has taught art classes and workshops to hundreds of students. One of the founders of the Sandy Watercolor Guild, he still teaches, paints and exhibits today.

He will be featured in the Guild's fine art exhibit at West Jordan City's Schorr Gallery Jan. 29 - March 11 along with several of his students and peers. The opening reception will be Jan. 29, 7 - 8 p.m. at the gallery, located in the West Jordan City building, 8000 South Redwood Road.

Currently Hoskovsky is working on a painting to be presented by the Sandy Senior Center Advisory Board to the new Riverton Senior Center at its March opening. His paintings also hang in the Magna and Taylorsville senior centers.

It's a particular challenge these days: Hoshovsky recently had a stroke which resulted in permanent vision loss in his right eye. For many it would be time to quit but not for this tenacious Ukrainian.

"Calling it quits would be even worse than a stroke," he said. "What's the alternative - lay down in bed?

I told myself: "You're 84 years old. You're supposed to be gone anyhow. Don't complain."

A man of many talents, Hoshovsky minimizes his own achievements. What he's most proud of in life, he said is "my ability to accomplish things, to succeed in doing it. What I set out to do, I did it."

But perhaps a more fitting summary of the man is something he tossed out in passing:

"You can start to be a horrible failure but if you put your mind to it, you can do something."

Caption: Alex Hoskovsky shares his love of painting with students.

Caption: "Going Home" by Alex Hoskovsky