Mongolian

Mongolia Monday- New Painting Debuts! “Scratch That Itch” And “Mongol Goat”

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"Scratch That Itch" 10x12" oil
“Scratch That Itch” 10×12″ oil

I’ve been working on some smaller pieces of domestic Mongol animals, just focusing on my subject and not worrying about a background other than colors. I loved the gesture of this Mongol horse foal who is finally gaining the coordination needed to raise one leg to scratch an itch.

"Mongol Goat" 12x12" oil
“Mongol Goat” 12×12″ oil

The best cashmere in the world comes from the goats of Mongolia. They come in a riot of colors, shapes, sizes and horn style, but the undercoat is pretty much the same on all of them. I was particularly taken with the bold black and white pattern of this fellow.

Mongolia Monday- Proverbs About Being A Mongol

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Buddhist priest chats with two women, Baga Gazriin Chuluu mountain blessing naadam, July 2009

There are many proverbs in Mongolia concerning good and bad character traits. Many are meant to teach children how they are expected to act. Others are intended as reminders about how to get along in life.

A good character and name is very important and is shown (or not shown) in one’s actions:

Take care of your deel when it is new
Take care of your name when it is clean

Person who has bad character loses his name
Person who works hard will tell his name

Being humble is considered a very good character trait:

A large sea is calm
A knowledgeable person is humble

Many proverbs encourage people to work hard and finish what they start:

If you are bold, work will be finished
If you are persistent, happiness will come