A Long Islander uses her vivid paintings to celebrate her Korean, Japanese and American heritage.

Joan Kim Suzuki moved to South Korea for college. It was there that she met her Japanese husband and started a family of her own.

Through her own life experiences, she learned the importance of embracing her multicultural background.

"Now that I went this whole journey of living abroad, raising kids abroad, coming back to America, I realized how proud I should be and how proud my kids should be to be both Asian and American," Suzuki says.

Her art also honors her late grandmother, outlining her journey walking from Manchuria, China to Korea during World War II with her infant son.

Suzuki's paintings are being displayed at a Westbury Arts exhibit, which is running until Saturday.