Texture & color

Last year I traveled to the Spiti Valley to attend a conference on prenatal awareness. A high altitude rock desert, this valley near the Tibetan border is home to the 2nd highest village in the world at 4205 m! Winter here is a real killer and buildings are not equipped with running hot water. The few courageous locals who stay over the winter months do a lot of knitting and storytelling :) Tabo Monastery founded in 996 AD is the oldest continuously functioning Buddhist monument in India with 9 chapels containing original wall decorations, the earliest of which were executed by Kashmiri craftsmen. Because of the extreme climatic conditions and the seclusion of this location, Spiti's economic & social structures are similar to the conditions which existed 1000 year ago.

I couldn't leave India without visiting the Taj in Agra, white marble mausoleum inlaid with semiprecious stones so breathtaking I had to cry.

Le Nom de l'Arbre

I spent a good part of 2014 working on illustrations for Le Nom de l'Arbre which is finally out! This African fable retold with humor by Stéphanie Bénéteau takes place once upon a time when the animals spoke our language. When a great famine descends upon the land, the only source of food is a magical Tree who will offer his luscious fruit on the one condition that the animals call it by its long forgotten name. But no one can remember the name of the tree! The animals are doomed to starvation. So the hare, gazelle & lion-king in turn attempt to climb the Mountain to ask the Chief for the name of the Tree. No one succeeds, until the tortoise decides to try her luck. Everyone doubts her abilities, as she appears in every way dwarfed by the insolent hare, the agile gazelle and the King of the animals no less! But as the fable teaches us, appearances can be deceiving...

Elders hold a special place in this tale, which reminds us that each member of the community is precious and useful.

Here are my favorite spreads.

Sketchbook

working on...

Portrait of my paternal grandfather Dragen, the first man in town to own a radio. Modeled after a Russian icon of St George.

Early single domed church of St George in Yuriev-Polski, from around 1230.

My father's work

Church of Virgin Mary's Birth in Djurdjevo, Serbia

Church of Virgin Mary's Birth in Djurdjevo, Serbia

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A permanent exhibit of my father's life and work is housed in this building

A permanent exhibit of my father's life and work is housed in this building

Self portrait by Julian Kolesar

Self portrait by Julian Kolesar

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Bust of my grandfather Dragen by Julian Kolesar

Bust of my grandfather Dragen by Julian Kolesar

Traditional home with walnut tree in Djurdjevo, Serbia

Traditional home with walnut tree in Djurdjevo, Serbia

The streets in Djurdjevo are lined with large shady walnut trees

The streets in Djurdjevo are lined with large shady walnut trees

Traditional poppy cake

Traditional poppy cake

Old Novi Sad, Serbia

Old Novi Sad, Serbia

I recently got in touch with my father's family in Serbia, who sent me photos of his paintings. Julian Kolesar 1927-1992 was born in Djurdjevo, Yugoslavia. He was a painter, sculptor, poet and ethnographer who painted icons and themes drawing from Vojvodinian Rusyn life with folky colors and emphasis on the decorative.

There's a permanent exhibit on his life and work in the museum of ethnography at the Greek Catholic parish in Djurdjevo, and his papers are held in the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa.

I remember as a child playing with sketching paper larger than myself in his home studio in Montreal that smelled of drying oil and gouache.

Most of these paintings are from private collections in Canada, the US and Serbia. 

In Taproot Magazine

Photo courtesy of Taproot

Photo courtesy of Taproot

 

 

The theme running through Taproot's Sept. issue is MEND.  Taproot asked me to illustrate Marco Wilkinson's insightful article "The Gift of Failure", on the parallels between the trials of running a small scale organic farm and the practice of Zen Buddhism. The image depicts a circle composed of elements from the story with rice grains spilling out, creating a breach through which the world can enter... letting in the World.

Norbulingka Centre, India

Thangka means a work done on cloth and set in a silk or cotton frame.

Thangka means a work done on cloth and set in a silk or cotton frame.

Most of the painters sit in rows listening to their ipods

Eye chart (?)

Green Tara. The smallest of these masterpieces take minimum 3 months to complete at 8 hours of work/day! The painting is set up by plotting diagonal, vertical and horizontal lines. Grids with proportions specific to each figure are penciled in and filled with the details. Background miscellanea like clouds and mountains are then added.

Norbulingka is an art school dedicated to preserving and handing down Tibetan culture mainly through art and language. The center in Dharamsala has a garden monastery and provides training, education and employment to Tibetans in exile. I got a chance to visit the art studios and stare at the young-ish artists at work. Their coffee shop offers a killer espresso, a rare find in masala chai country!  Norbulingka literally means "The Jewelled Park".

The Vancouver Postcard Show Vol. 4

In this angel figure by my father, Julian Kolesar, the decorative elements almost eclipse the subject matter! I am inspired by all that movement

My small painting called Metamorphosis will be part of the Vancouver Postcard Show Vol. 4, happening April 5th 2014 at the Remington Gallery. An exhibit featuring postcard-size affordable artwork which will be auctioned off.

My small painting called Metamorphosis will be part of the Vancouver Postcard Show Vol. 4, happening April 5th 2014 at the Remington Gallery. An exhibit featuring postcard-size affordable artwork which will be auctioned off.

in ancient Egypt the gods were portrayed in the forms they had when they walked the earth. Our ancestors were gods clothed in animal forms, writes Rudolf Steiner. 

Icon painting and the Transformation of Matter

My version of Christ as Ruler and Sustainer. His asymmetrical eyes point to the humanity and divinity of Jesus focusing on two different worlds. Seen and Unseen... The pastel medium is one of the most accessible forms of almost pure pigment. Pastel …

The icon's visual conventions and techniques create symbolic landscapes within which the viewer strives to perceive the inner, the hidden. ICONS & THE MYSTICAL ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY by Richard Temple is an excellent read.

My favorite of these visual conventions is the Virgin depicted with tiny feet to show that in her unearthly purity she hovers above the ground and barely touches it.

Here is my take on Christ the Ruler and Sustainer made with pastel and gold ink on Stonehenge paper. His asymmetrical eyes point to the humanity and divinity of Jesus focusing on two different worlds. Seen and Unseen. The pastel medium is one of the most accessible forms of almost pure pigment.