Category Archives: WildArt Mongolia Expedition

The WildArt Mongolia Expedition, Introducing The Mongol Artists, Part 4: Oidoviin Magvandorj

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Magvandorj O PhotoOIDOVIIN MAGVANDORJ

Magvandorj was born in 1952 in Tsagaan Khairkhan, Uvs Aimag.

He attended/graduated from the State Pedalogical University in 1980

From 1972 to 1976 he was an member of the Union of Mongolian Artists branch in Uvs Aimag

From 1980 to 1990 he was an artist at the Musical Drama Theater, Uvs Aimag

Since 1990 he has been a freelance artist and a member of the Union of Mongolian Artists in Ulaanbaatar since 2000.

Great Empire of Mongolia

Great Empire of Mongolia

He has exhibited his work since 1977, both in Mongolia and internationally, participating in exhibitions in Paris and Mexico. His work has been in Union of Mongolian Artists exhibitions since 2005.

His awards include:
1987- “Mongolian National Costumes”- First Prize
1987- “Concert of Many Nationalities”- Best Artist
1988- Festival of Raduga- Leading Prize
2008- Leading Cultural Worker, Ministry of Education and Science

Nomadic

Nomadic

Altan Argamj

Altan Argamj

Mongolia Monday- The WildArt Mongolia Expedition, Introducing The Mongol Artists, Part 3: Gadaan Dunburee

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Dunburee-2012GAADAN DUNBUREE

Dunburee was born in 1941 in Tsakhirt, Ondurshireet soum, Tov Aimag.

From 1961 to 1965 he studied painting and handicraft at the State Pedological University.

From 1989 to 1993 he served as the Director of the Museum of Bogd Khan Palace.

He has been exhibiting his paintings since 1967, both in Mongolia and internationally, participating in exhibitions in Russia, Bulgaria, Japan, Germany, Tunisia, South Korea, China, London and Paris. He has had solo exhibitions in Moscow and Ulaanbaatar, including one at the US Embassy.

Ikh Khuree

Ikh Khuree

His awards include:
1993- the Prize of the Union of Mongolian Artists for his “Ikh Khuree” series
1995- “The Leading Worker for the Culture of Mongolia”
2000- “Star Pole” of Mongolia, which is the highest honor that the Mongolian government bestows on artists

Gun Nuur

Gun Nuur

Dunburee’s work is in the collections of:
The Mongolian Modern Art Gallery
Museum of Fine Art of Mongolia
Fund of the Mongolian Artists Union
Museum of the Orient of Russia

Private collections

Mongol Altay

Mongol Altay

Location sketch

Location sketch

Mongolia Monday- The WildArt Mongolia Expedition, Introducing The Mongol Artists, Part 2: Batnasan Davaasabuu

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BatnasanBATNASAN DAVAASAMBUU

Batnasan was born in Tsetserleg, Arkhangai Aimag, in February 1967. He lives with his three sons, a daughter and his wife. He paints in oil, watercolor and also does drawings. He is particularly known for his watercolor paintings of Mongolian daily life, portraits, nature and the animals which are the pride of Mongolians.

Work experience:
Mongolian Art University- 1983-1987
UMA member- 1987-present
UMA director of Arkhangai- 1991-1993
Founder and CEO of “Vessels of Honor” Art Gallery- 2004
TV Host of “The Voice of Classic Artists”- 2006-present
Founder and teacher of “ NomArt “ Art Training center- 2012-present

camelsExhibitions and Festivals:
“Young Modern Artists” joint Exhibition, Ulaanbaatar- 1991
“Mother Land” solo exhibitions, Tsetserleg, Arkhangai- 1993-1999
“Mongolian Birds” solo exhibition, UNDP office, Ulaanbatar- 2002
“Mongolian Lifestyle” solo exhibition, Padova Italy- 2003
“Visitors Arriving” solo exhibition, Zanabazar Fine Art Museum, Ulaanbaatar- 2004
“Laughing and Loving” joint exhibition, Edinburgh, UK- 2004
“Batna Art Show”, Chinggis Khan Hotel, Ulaanbaatar- 2005-2009
“Father’s Love” solo exhibition, Tsagaandarium Art Gallery, Ulaanbaatar- 2012
“Batna’s water color works” solo exhibition,UB EAN Ulaanbaatar- 2012
“Batna’s various art works” solo exhibition, Mazaalai Art Gallery, Ulaanbaatar- 2013

white mountainsCollections:
Fine Art Museum of Mongolia
Mongolian Modern Art Gallery
Badamkhand Art Gallery
UNDP office in Mongolia
Trade and Development Bank, Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar
Agricultural Bank,Ulaanbaatar
Chinggis Khan Hotel, Ulaanbaatar

Most of his artworks are in private collections in USA, Germany, UK, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, China, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Korea and many other countries.

jockeys

The WildArt Mongolia Expedition-Introducing the Mongol Artists, Part 1: Tugsouyn Sodnom

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It gives me great, great pleasure to begin introducing the Mongol artists who will be going on the WildArt Mongolia Expedition! I met them when I was in Ulaanbaatar last year and am very excited that they have signed on. All of them are well-known in Mongolia and deserve to be known in the United States too.

I will be posting about them one at a time on Fridays and Mondays. Then I will introduce my sponsor and supporters, along with additional artists who will be going.

Today, I would like you to meet Tugsoyun Sodnom.

S.Tugsoyun-orkhon

Tugsoyun was born in 1955.

She graduated from the Fine Art College, Ulaanbaatar in 1974 and from the Surikov Institute of Fine Art, Moscow, Russia, in 1980.

She has been exhibiting her work since 1974, both in Mongolia and internationally, participating in exhibitions in Bulgaria, Japan, Russia, Japan, India, Germany, Australia, Korea, the United States and London. Since 1974 she has participated in all of the Union of Mongolian Artists’ exhibitions.

Since 1974 she has designed and/or illustrated over 100 books.

Gobi Camels

Gobi Camels

Her awards include:
1985- Annual Prize of the Union of Mongolian Artists
1988- Honorary Diploma, International Exhibition, Bulgaria
1989- Mongolian Youth Federation’s Award
1993- “Honored Labor” medal, government of Mongolia
2003- “Pole Star” of Mongolia, which is the highest honor that the Mongolian government bestows on artists

Night of Otgontenger Mountain

Night of Otgontenger Mountain

Her paintings and graphic works are in the collections of:
Fine Art Museum of Mongolia
Mongolian Modern Art Gallery
Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan
Trade and Development Bank, Ulaanbaatar
Agricultural Bank, Ulaanbaatar
Mongolian Chamber of Trade and Industry
Undruul Hotel
Tsetseg Hotel
Soros Foundation, Ulaanbaatar
The Asia Foundation, San Francisco, USA
Private collections in Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Korea, China, Russia, USA

Ger District

Ger District; she is particularly known for her series of ger paintings

Horse and Rider

Horse and Rider; one of her book illustrations

Mongolia Monday- Big News Coming Soon

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Byambaa and I with my painting at the Society of Animal Artists "Art and the Animal" opening weekend last year

Byambaa and I with my painting at the Society of Animal Artists “Art and the Animal” opening weekend last year

I just got home from a week long trip to the East Coast. I was the board meeting of the Society of Animal Artists (starting my second three year term), spending a couple of days with Society artist friend and colleague Alison Nicholls and, most relevent to Mongolia Monday, meeting for two days with my Mongol friend, WildArt Mongolia Expedition sponsor and supporter Byambakhuu Darinchuluun. We will have a major announcement soon about the Mongol artists who will be going on the Expedition, so stay tuned!

Mongolia Monday- WildArt Mongolia Expedition Supporter ASSOCIATION GOVIIN KHULAN

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log goviin khulan I want to introduce you today to one of the supporters of the WildArt Mongolia Expedition, Association GOVIIN KHULAN, which is run by French khulan researcher Anne-Camille Souris. We’ve corresponded via Facebook for a couple of years and were able to meet and chat in person in Ulaanbaatar during my trip last year.

Anne-Camille also works with Mongol artists through her International Art for Conservation project.

International Art Goviin Khulan ©In the past she worked at Takhiin Tal, one of the destinations of the Expedition, studying takhi. Very few researchers were  carrying out research on khulan compared to takhi, so she switched species. There are also khulan at Takhiin Tal, which is in the Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area. She has offered to lend her expertise in both these wild equids, for which I am greatly appreciative.

You can find out more about khulan here. And below is the information Anne-Camille sent me about her organization and its work.

Khulans2008_2_A-C SOURIS_S.FOX_FB

“The Association GOVIIN KHULAN is a French non-profit organization that works in the southeast Gobi, Mongolia, to protect the endangered Mongolian Khulan (Equus hemionus hemionus) and its habitat in partnership with local rangers and communities.

The Mongolian Khulan – also known as Mongolian Wild Ass – is an endangered wild Equid and is one the 5 recognized sub-species of the Asiatic Wild Ass. The Mongolian Khulan represents the largest population of this species in the world. However, its population has known an important decrease by as much as 50% since the end of the 1990′s and about 15 000 individuals are now left in the wild.

The Association GOVIIN KHULAN has built a multidisciplinary approach to ensure protection of this endangered species on a long term: a) research, b) local and international information, education and awareness, c) involvement of local communities, d) partnership with local rangers,  e) technical and professional support to rangers and citizen conservationists/scientists, f) partnership with Buddhist monks, g) reinforcement of links between Mongolian culture and traditions with nature protection, and h) community development & animal and environment ethics (in progress).

Khulans2008_A-C SOURIS_S.FOX_FB

Mongolia Monday- Back Home And With Great Art News!

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I arrived home from my seven week trip to Mongolia last Tuesday. I’ve been alternating catching up and doing….nothing or at least nothing more strenuous than watching a baseball game. The first order of business was to download and start categorizing the over 8000 images I shot on the trip. I always feel better when everything is safely on the hard drive, backed up to the remote Vault and visible in Aperture.

My great news is that I and my work will now be represented in Ulaanbaatar by ArtiCour Gallery! I hope to start shipping paintings and drawings to them before the end of the year.

My final days in Ulaanbaatar were a bit of a whirlwind. The art event at ArtiCour Gallery went very well. There was a steady stream of people all day, some of whom I knew. There was a lot of interest in the WildArt Mongolia Expedition and at least three artists expressed an interest in going next year. Many art students came by. The director of a Mongolian magazine which publishes articles on artists stopped in and said that they want to do an article on my and my work! Even more special to me personally, a number of very prominent Mongol artists attended, all of them members of the venerable Union of Mongolian Artists, which was founded in 1944.  Two of them invited me to visit their studios. But that will be a tale for another post.

Here’s a selection of photos taken at “American Artist Susan Fox-The WildArt Mongolia Expedition”, which was the first in ArtiCour’s new Visiting International Artists series.

Entrance to ArtiCour Gallery

Meeting E. Sukhee, one of Mongolia’s most famous artists

Watercolor demonstration

Bactrian camel. watercolor demo

Display of watercolors I did on location over two afternoons while I was visiting Hustai National Park, one of the three places in Mongolia where takhi (Przewalski’s horse) have been reintroduced

Meeting Dunburee, also a very prominent Mongol artist

Doing a fast sketching demo during my evening presentation

I couldn’t have had a better, more attentive group and they asked some great questions later on.

Meeting with Ekhbat Lantuu, President of the New Century Art Association, which promotes environmental issues through the arts.

My interpreters, Khailiunaa and Buyandelger, without whom I wouldn’t have been able to talk to anyone

Janna Kamimila, the Director of ArtiCour Gallery and my host

Mongolia Monday- A Few Last Notes

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First night out on two-week camping trip, July 2010

If everything goes as planned, I will soon be in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Four days in town and then off to Ikh Nartiin Chuluu Nature Reserve for eleven days. I’ll post when I can. In the meantime, here’s a few photos of favorite camping spots from past trips.

I’m almost packed, just the roll-on to finish, mostly the camera equipment. I’ve developed a packing list over the years that definitely reduces the stress, plus most basics are now available in UB if needed.

I did make a final purchase. Everyone is different in what little things make travel more comfortable. For me, it’s sleeping on the same surface every night (Thermarest pad), having a real pillow ( a cut down bed pillow that fits in the roll-on), a hot coffee-like drink first thing in the morning (coffee packets, ceramic mug and immersion heater) and, this time, two decent sized travel towels.

A real favorite; camping at Baga Gazriin Chuluu, July 2010

I’ve used a pair of ok cloth ones for at least six years. They were some of the first travel towels on the market, at least at REI, and worked ok. They dried fast and rolled up pretty small. But they developed a kind of “chalky” feel and weren’t big enough to really wrap up my wet hair. One last trip to the local outdoor store and I now have two 20×40″ microfiber towels from Sea To Summit. Even though they are bigger, they roll up smaller than the old ones. Not cheap, but after bumping up against the limitations of the others, I finally decided the heck with it and got something better. A test at home was successful, so it looks like I’m set.

Camping on the steppe, August 2011; beautiful, quiet and classically Mongolian

Art Warm-up For Mongolia; An Album Of Studies

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Gers north of Bayanhongor, Hangai Mountains, July 2010; watercolor on Annigoni 100% cotton paper

My intention is to do at least one sketch a day this trip. So I wanted to be in a groove before I leave. I also needed to refine my portable art studio. So I spent yesterday working from previous trip photos as if I was at the scene, reliving a little of what it was like to be there and imagining having just enough time during a lunch stop to get out the paint and do a quick study. So none of these took more than about 20 minutes.

The idea is to work fast, get an impression down and move on. Here’s what I’m taking this year:

My portable field studio

The bag is a re-purposed point and shoot camera bag and it’s turned out to be perfect. In the front is a roll of drafting tape, kneaded rubber erasers, extra mechanical pencil leads and a pencil sharpener. Next pocket back is a set of water soluable Derwent colored pencils. In the back are Sakura Micron pens in a variety of sizes and colors, a couple of draughting pencils, a couple of mechanical pencils, a sandpaper pad, blending stumps, a tube of white gouache and a watercolor brush that breaks down to half its length.

The watercolor set is from Yarka. I use napkins, slightly used, from restaurants, for rags. Extra brushes go in the bamboo carrier. Water for painting goes in the collapsible plasticized cloth “bucket”.

Gobi landscape, July 2010: watercolor on vellum bristol; I ultimately decided against taking the bristol paper in favor of more watercolor paper

The support is a piece of lightweight foamcore. The drafting tape, which is lightly adhesive, doesn’t pull up the paper surface.

For paper I’ll have my Moleskin sketchbook journal and a stack of 7×7″ watercolor paper cut down from a pad that I got many years ago in England, brand unknown, and, so that I can work on a toned surface (inspired by Thomas Moran’s location studies of Yellowstone that he did while traveling with the Hayden Expedition) a pad of Anigoni 100% cotton toned paper, which happily takes a variety of media.

Here’s some more of my favorites from yesterday, all done from photos that I took on previous trips to Mongolia:

Gull, Orog Nuur, Gobi, July 2010; trying out the watercolor paper; I haven’t done any watercolor work at all for a long time, so needed to figure it out again.

Gobi, July 2010; did this one in both watercolor, shown here, and the vellum bristol to see which I liked better; both work, but the watercolor paper allows for more edge variety.

River valley north of Bayanhongor, Hangai Mountains, July 2010; Two studies on the Anigoni toned paper; watercolor with white gouache

Horses at Gun-Galuut, August 2011; I wanted to practice doing animals before I was sitting in front of the real thing. Watercolor, Micron pen; I started with the watercolor, then did the penwork, then went back and knocked in the shadow areas and the water; about ten minutes

Horses at Gun-Galuut, August 2011; watercolor and Micron pen on w/c paper; each about 15 minutes

Baga Gazriin Chuluu, July 2010; lots of rocks where I’m going, so did a couple of studies; Notice that it’s not necessary to finish everything to the same point, especially when time is limited; watercolor

Ikh Nartiin Chuluu, August 2011; rocks with an argali; watercolor

Mongolia Monday- WildArt Mongolia Expedition Destinations: Altai Mountains and Sharga

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Mongolia country map with destination area

Expedition destinations by species

I leave for Mongolia a week from tomorrow! 

I posted about one of the three WildArt Mongolia Expedition destinations here. Today I’m going to cover the other two- the Altai Mountains and Sharga. The difficulty is that I have never been to any of them, so I don’t have any images to share. For Takhiin Tal, I used a photo from Khomiin Tal, the newest takhi release site, which is to the north. So I’ll post a couple of my own images that show similar terrain, based on what I’ve seen for both on Google Images.

The Mongolian Altai Mountains in Mongolia are the extension of a range that extends east from Kazakhstan. I saw the Gobi Altai Mountains during my 2010 two-week camping trip when we went to Orog Nuur, a remote lake. Farther west they are much higher and more rugged. The Expedition is going in September to be there between the summer heat of the Gobi and snow beginning in the mountains. We will go to the Altai Mountains first, in early September, but snow is still a possibility, so I’ll have a down bag and thermals, just in case.

Gobi Altai mountains at sunrise, Orog Nuur, July 2010

The reason we’re going is to see snow leopard habitat. These elusive cats are essentially impossible to spot. Researchers who have trapped and collared them have walked away and looked back to where they know they left the cat and have been utterly unable to see it. But we’ll keep an eye out anyway.

Sharga was an area of Mongolia that I had not heard of until I added saiga antelope to the list of the Expedition’s featured species. They are critically endangered. Less than twenty years ago there were over a million. The population crashed to under 50,000 in ten years, the most extreme drop ever seen in a large mammal species. Poaching and lax law enforcement after the fall of the communist government in the 1990s were the cause. Intense conservation efforts are under way to save them and build up the population, something we plan to learn more about.

Steppe grasslands, July 2011, traveling north from Ikh Nartiin Chuluu to Gun-Galuut

Sharga has some of the last stretches of the vast steppe grasslands that once extended from almost the Pacific west into Hungary. It is an area also known for producing what are considered by many to be the best horses, called Sharga Azarga,  in a country that seriously knows horses.

Arrangements are being made for a local reserve ranger to accompany us to help spot the saiga since they apparently now run at the slightest sight of humans and understandably so.

One of the missions of the WildArt Mongolia Expedition is, by traveling to these remote, beautiful places, to use the art that we will create to draw attention to them and the wildlife that lives there.