07 November 2019
Brian Sindler is an award-winning American artist whose works embody the essence of landscape painting. They have been called landscape renditions because they are not intended as exact renderings. Sindler grew up in a family immersed in art. Early on he studied music, eventually becoming a touring musician. However, the visual arts kept calling. At the American Academy of Art and The S...
30 June 2017
The island of Bali is in Indonesia. While it can be described as an island paradise featuring extraordinary natural vistas and scenes of great beauty on both a grand and intimate scale, it is also home to one of the most complex and engaging cultures in the world. While the rest of Indonesia is Islamic, Bali is Hindu. However, Hinduism as practiced on Bali is endemic to the island alone. It is ...
25 November 2016
In the 2,500 years since the historical Buddha lived, his story has been told countless times and his teachings became the basis for one of the world’s great religions – Buddhism. Although there is general agreement among historians that Buddha was an actual person, the actual times of his birth and death are uncertain as are many details of his life. There are simply too many conf...
19 August 2016
Sometimes, a blank canvas can be utterly intimidating to an artist. In response to viewing this void another void is created, and in it nothing may come to mind, the hand freezes, and time seems to stop. Calligrapher Seiran Chiba had this experience when her calligraphy master passed away and she was left for the first time with no guiding figure. For days she sat in front of a blank sheet...
17 June 2016
One of the most delicate subjects to talk about is faith – yet everywhere we go, it is present. It might even be said faith is a universal concept, even if how it is applied may differ. One person has faith in one religion, one person another religion; one person believes in one particular god, another believes something altogether different. Teachings may differ, but the idea of fai...
20 February 2016
Who is to say that the things we see – all the colors, shapes and textures of the world – are viewed the same way through every eye? Is the green you see the same as the green I see? Recent research has suggested it's not, and further, that the perception of color is actually derived from experience. Needless to say, no two people have identical experiences, even identical twin...
19 August 2015
A very high form of devotional painting called pichvai manifested itself among the multitude of arts that developed around Pushti Marg. In Hindi, 'pich' means 'back' and 'vai' means 'hanging.' Taken together these words provide an apt description of pichvais, which are large, decorative paintings hung behind tables or mats filled with offerings and statues of Krishna. All pichvai dep...
05 June 2015
Westervelt’s paintings reflect a certain raw primitivism that is both moving and seductive. His works are emotive, almost always featuring faces and figures assembled from the skins he creates and tempered by his imagination. Though at first glance his pieces may seem abstract, the facial expression and body language of his characters convey a never ending array of feelings and...
15 August 2014
Carl Sagan once said, “Astronomy is a science that seeks to explain everything.” Although the late astronomer was a popular figure in modern times, people have been looking up towards the stars for thousands of years. Jainism, for instance, is one of the oldest religions in the world, yet it does just what Sagan declared in breathtaking detail. The origins of Jaini...
21 March 2014
Years ago I collected the drawings of Bob Meyer, an American artist living in Paris, France. Bob is a theatrical director, writer and actor, but in my mind, first and foremost he is a visual artist. His pencil drawings always struck me as magical, almost hypnotic. He has the best line I’ve ever seen. In just a few movements he can lasso all sorts of feelings ...