1/6/1950 – 4/2/2022
Richard Zyzanski was born in 1950 and was the youngest of three children, Mary the eldest cared for him his whole life, his brother Michael moved to Australia with their mother in the 1980s. His father Kazik was very close to him until his death in 2007. His parents were living in St Margarets Bay near Dover when he was born, they later moved to Catford in south-east London where Richard lived for many years. He attended Forest Hill School, a secondary for boys, his father ran a café in Catford whilst his mother was a primary school teacher, he had a happy childhood.
After leaving school he had a few different jobs, he started training to be a Police Cadet, he was a night porter in a hotel and an operating theatre assistant at Lewisham Hospital. Richard had his first breakdown in his 20s and unfortunately mental illness was with him for the rest of his life. He spent time in hospital but was able to live independently but with support for a number of years. Art was his salvation and became a very important part of his life, it helped him to rebuild his life and find a way to be happy again.
He moved to Bexley in his 40s, to a block reserved for vulnerable people and it was there he met Wanda, she lived in the flat above. They actually first met at church, Richard had a strong Christian faith and found a good community through the church. He very quickly became a part of her family, especially when they realised they shared a Polish heritage, Richard’s father was Polish as was Wanda’s mother. He enjoyed family gatherings and after his father died Wanda’s mother helped him keep in contact with his relatives in Poland, which was very important to him. He and Wanda visited them often, in a village near Krakow, they were able to travel on their own and very much enjoyed spending time there. Richard loved holidays and they often visited Ilfracombe, staying in the same hotel every year.
Richard was unable to work due to his illness but was able to establish a life in his 50s with art at its core. He was helped by the Centrepieces Mental Health Arts Project and painted constantly in his flat which was always full of paintings and pots and brushes. He loved visiting charity shops, and his flat was overflowing with watches, pictures and other treasures he had found. He was a good cook, a very kind man and an intelligent man always asking questions and knowledgeable about his favourite subjects which included cars.
Richard’s mother was English and he sometimes used her maiden name of Jones on his artwork. He enjoyed painting portraits, he did these from memory or from photos, from people he knew to famous faces. He liked to create original pieces but he also enjoyed creating his own versions of famous paintings, adding his own special twist. He used different materials, mainly acrylic and oil, his afternoons were spent painting and listening to Radio 2 in his flat. He was very prolific and he has left a big body of work. He has had his art shown at many exhibitions at Hall Place and elsewhere and some pieces are on the walls at the Woodlands Unit at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup and other Oxleas NHS Trust buildings.
Written by Eva Lee (sister of Wanda)