Food for the Spirit and the Soul

A Pleasant Surprise

Born in 1965 in San Antonio, Texas, Scott Harding is an American artist who works in oil, watercolor, pastel, and pencil. Harding is especially adept at painting the human form, and while his style is generally realistic, it is complicated by a subtle impressionism, and it is hard not to be moved by the beauty and passion that emerge from Harding’s canvases. 
In addition to being impressive artistic accomplishments, Hardy’s paintings are a reminder that, despite so many examples to the contrary, something good can come out of Texas.

An Artful Moment: Emily Carr

For the sake of an aesthetically fruitful collaboration between eye and mind:

Emily Carr (1871-1945) was a Canadian painter and writer. She studied and worked in San Francisco, England, and France, but her art blossomed in the 1930s, when she returned to Canada and began specializing in depicting scenes from the lives and rituals of Native Americans living in the Pacific Northwest: “Indian Art broadened my seeing, loosened the formal tightness I had learned in England’s schools. Its bigness and stark reality baffled my white man’s understanding… I had been schooled to see outsides only, not struggle to pierce.”

Carr soon developed what today might be called an “ecological vision,” and she was deeply concerned about the destruction of the wilderness: “I glory in our wonderful west and I hope to leave behind me some of the relics of its first primitive greatness. These things should be to us Canadians what the ancient Briton’s relics are to the English. Only a few more years and they will be gone forever into silent nothingness and I would gather my collection together before they are forever past.”

I will let Carr’s words serve as commentary on her work:
“I sat staring, staring, staring – half lost, learning a new language or rather the same language in a different dialect. So still were the big woods where I sat, sound might not yet have been born.”

“It is wonderful to feel the grandness of Canada in the raw, not because she is Canada but because she’s something sublime that you were born into, some great rugged power that you are a part of.”

“There is something bigger than fact: the underlying spirit, all it stands for, the mood, the vastness, the wildness.”
I close with a biographical detail that helps to illuminate the character of Emily Carr. The Nuu-chah-nulth tribe of Vancouver Island’s west coast nicknamed Emily Carr “Klee Wyck” – “The Laughing One” – and that is the title she used for a book she published in 1941 that won the Governor General’s Award.

An Artful Moment: Juliette Aristedes

For the sake of an aesthetically fruitful collaboration between eye and mind:

Juliette Aristedes is an artist and art instructor who currently lives and works in Seattle, Washington. In her teaching, she is passionate about the need for her students to acquire a rigorous education in the principles of classical realism, and the fruits of that conviction are readily apparent in her paintings.

In her words, “Traditional skills are necessary for developing a foundational base for the artist to work from. It is craftsmanship that opens the door to effective self-expression. I am excited about teaching the methods from our artistic inheritance. I know that once this knowledge becomes commonplace again, it can only enrich our cultural life.”

Aristides began her studies in 1968 at Design Systems, then studied drawing and painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, went on to study at The Atelier in Minneapolis, and then had two years of instruction at the National Academy in New York.

Juliette received both the Wilder Prize for Drawing and the Albert Hallgarten Traveling Scholarship. She is also the recipient of an Elisabeth Greenshields Grant and frequently contributes to “Artist’s Magazine.”

Juliette Aristides currently teaches at the Seattle Academy of Fine Art, where she founded the award-winning Classical Atlier Program. She has also written two books: “Classical Drawing Atlier” and “Classical Painting Atelier.” Finally, this quote can serve as a particularly eloquent expression of her artistic vision and educational philosophy: “I have a simple belief that the goal of learning to draw and paint is attainable by anyone who is willing to pursue it. It is as accessible as learning to write or play a musical instrument. There is more than one path a person can follow to be a well-trained artist. What is necessary, however, is a passion for excellence, discipline, and an unflinching desire to pursue truth.” That sounds very much like a formula for any sort of well-conducted and deeply fulfilling life.

To learn more about Juliette Aristedes and to view additional examples of her work, visit her website: http://www.aristidesarts.com/

An Artful Moment: Robert Andes

For the sake of an aesthetically fruitful collaboration between eye and mind:

“I have always been interested in the work of artists who paint the human form, so this remains my focus and usual subject.” Robert “Rob” Andes

Robert Andes is a painter who lives and works in Fayetteville, Arkansas. His stated intent is “to create a picture that is visually pleasing and captures people and their emotions through color and composition.” This goal is beautifully realized in a series of paintings Rob made after a trip to Santa Fe, where, not surprisingly, he fell in love with the light:

Since Andes believes that “the traditions of figurative art remain important in art to the present,” it is predictable that some of his portraits made during a 2009 visit to Siena, Italy will remind viewers of the works of the great Italian masters:

Because, in his words, Rob is interested in conveying a sense of “introspection and quiet observation,” it is appropriate that contemplating his War Memorial paintings made during a visit to Washington, D.C. is conducive to precisely those states of mind:

Rob’s portraits, including those of the children of some of his friends, perfectly capture the moods of their subjects, moods with which we can all readily identify:

For people living in and around Northwest Arkansas, I recommend contacting Rob Andes through email – robandes@yahoo.com – to arrange a visit to his studio, which is located at 123 E. Cleburn Street in Fayetteville. I also suggest that everyone should examine the artist’s website – www.robandes.com. – in order to peruse the gallery of wonderful paintings Rob has posted there.

An Artful Moment: Shoson Ohara

For the sake of an aesthetically fruitful collaboration between eye and mind:

Shoson Ohara (1877-1945) was a Japanese painter and printmaker who specialized in depicting birds and flowers.

Shoson began his career working in the nature print genre, though he was also adept with human subjects.

Shoson’s prints became immensely popular in the West, mostly in consequence of the 1930 and 1936 Toledo Museum exhibitions. In fact, more prints were sold by Shoson during these shows than by any other artist, at least partly because of their beautifully decorative character.

The prints and paintings of Shoson Ohara can be found in museums and private collections around the world.

An Artful Moment: Kawase Hasui

For the sake of an aesthetically fruitful collaboration between eye and mind:

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) was one of the founding members of the “new prints” movement in Japan during the early decades of the 20th century. Along with his colleagues, Kawase sought to invigorate the art of ukiyo-e, or woodblock print making, by restoring the traditional shin hanga system, in which the artist, carver, printer, and publisher engaged in a creative division of labor.

Kawase, like other members of the movement, was influenced in several ways by European impressionism, particularly in his use of color and light, and he employed these innovations in painting a wide range of traditional subjects, including landscapes, famous places, women, actors, birds, and flowers. Kawase was particularly skillful in capturing the mood of the people and the places he depicted.

There is a dream-like quality to many of Kawase’s prints, perhaps in part because he had a romanticized view of the Japan he was depicting. That is, his art is partly both a protest against the increasing urbanization and industrialization of Japan and a yearning for the older, more rural character of his homeland.

Students of ukiyo-e will also note that Kawase employs several techniques not found in traditional print-making, including colored lines, three-dimensionality, and deep space.

In 1956, Kawase Hasui was named a Living Treasure of Japan.

Just as it is not enough simply to “read” a good poem, it is not sufficient merely to “look at” the paintings of Kawase Hasui. In both cases it is necessary to pause, to contemplate, and to allow the art to work its magic: A poem properly regarded should in meaningful ways transform a reader’s perception of self and world, and a woodblock print correctly pondered should cause a viewer to see into the heart of things and thereby become more sensitive to the emotional nuances that attend each of our moments in this fleeting life.

Scholar, Artist, Monk: Three Views of Mount Kanchenjunga

When I accompanied several of my young scholars on a trek in Sikkim a few years ago, one of the most consistently inspiring sights was, of course, the mountains, especially when they were either cloud-girt:

or illuminated by the morning sun:

However, by far the most impressive sight we encountered was Kanchenjunga, the third-highest mountain in the world, standing along with its fellow peaks in a range of awe-inspiring splendor. As a scholar acquainted with the history of this region of the Himalayas, I was always deeply moved by the sight of Kanchenjunga, and my heart still soars when I look at photographs taken during our trip.

It will not surprise readers, then, to learn how delighted I was recently when I discovered that another traveler had been as enchanted as I was by Kanchenjunga more than sixty years before I first viewed it. Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) was a Japanese woodblock print maker, who traveled widely and created consummately lovely images of the sights which most impressed him, including Kanchenjunga:

Somehow I am more deeply moved by this print than I am by the many photographs of Kanchenjunga in my personal collection, and it makes me yearn to return to Sikkim, to put a pack on my back, and, in the company of like-minded companions, to wander among verdant hills and along mountain pathways.

Another man with a temperament quite different from mine or Yoshida’s also fell under Kanchenjunga’s spell and created his own record of the experience. Sangharakshita (born 1925) is an English Buddhist monk, teacher, and writer, and for a time he lived in a small cottage that he called “The Hermitage” in Kalimpong, India. His experiences there informed a series of books he wrote called “Facing Mount Kanchenjunga,” from which this passage is taken:
“I was inspired by the bamboos and the orchids, by the haze-softened foothills, gashed red here and there by the landslides, by the changing cloud formations, by the breadth and blueness of the sky. Above all I was inspired by the snows . . . Except for Kanchenjunga and Lama Yuru, a pyramidal mountain so called from its resemblance to a meditating monk, I did not know their names. Nor did I care to know them. For me it was enough to sit there in that intense stillness, five thousand feet above sea level, simply contemplating those silent white forms. Contemplating them in this way . . . I could begin to understand why the Himalayas had such a hold on the imagination of the people of the subcontinent and why they occupied so prominent a place in the religious and cultural life of Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains alike.”

Since he gave form to the same feelings in his magnificent print, I know that Yoshida Hiroshi would have perfectly understood those sentiments – as do I, a scholar sitting in his study. I feel my heart rise as I recollect the misty foothills, the snow, and the mountains – above all one mountain – and then the vision fades and I return to my mundane life. Or most of me does – because tugging at my imagination from the deepest, most treasured recess of memory, ever and always there is . . . the mountain.

An Artful Moment: To Ngoc Van

For the sake of an aesthetically fruitful collaboration between eye and mind:

Generally regarded in his homeland as one of Vietnam’s greatest artists, To Ngoc Van (1906-1954) was born into poverty. He was nonetheless a good student, and when the Indochinese Fine Arts College was established in Hanoi in 1925, Van found his true calling. He became fascinated with painting, and he read avidly and widely about artistic traditions in Japan, China, India, and Europe. It is clear, however, that both Manet and, especially, Gauguin were major influences on his evolving style.

From the earliest days of his career, Van’s paintings were exhibited in various galleries, and they were greatly admired for their exquisite use of color.

When the First Indochina War broke out, Van decided to employ his considerable talents to chronicle the life of his country’s soldiers in their fight against the French. Some of his most dynamic paintings come from this period, perhaps in part because the struggle against colonialism touched his heart so deeply.

Unfortunately, Van was killed during the latter stages of the conflict, and he was posthumously given the Ho Chi Minh Prize – his country’s highest national award for art and literature. Despite his untimely death, Van’s creative accomplishment was uncommonly impressive, particularly because he was so successful in synthesizing Western artistic methods with Vietnamese aesthetic traditions. However, perhaps the greatest legacy To Ngoc Van bequeathed to posterity is that in his paintings he captured a profound sense of the abiding gracefulness and love of things beautiful that are at the heart of Vietnamese culture.

An Artful Moment: Azat Galimov

For the sake of an aesthetically fruitful collaboration between eye and mind:

Azat Galimov is a contemporary Russian artist who lives and works in St. Petersburg. He is a member of the St. Petersburg Union of Artists, and in 2007 he was included in the Catalogue “Best Artists of Russia.”

Galimov is especially skillful with landscapes and cityscapes, and his extensive travels have afforded him many opportunities to record his journeys in beautifully crafted paintings.

An Artful Moment: Van Anh Quan

For the sake of an aesthetically fruitful collaboration between eye and mind:

Van Ahn Quan is a self-taught Vietnamese artist who has been painting for about ten years.

Quan’s meticulously crafted paintings have been shown in exhibitions in Vietnam and the United States.

No additional biographical information about Van Anh Quan is available, but it is not necessary, since he has expressed himself so eloquently in his art.