Local painter takes art expedition to Mongolia

Local painter Susan Fox recently returned from her seventh trip to Mongolia. As she has done on her previous trips, she traveled the countryside to observe and photograph wildlife, landscapes, nomadic herders and their animals.

Fox kept a journal that she filled with sketches of a variety of subjects, and she also had the opportunity to paint on location for two afternoons in Hustai National Park, one of three places in Mongolia where takhi/Przewalski's horse have been reintroduced.

What made her most recent trip different from those in the past is that she not only got to meet and visit the studios of some of Mongolia's most prominent artists, she was also a featured artist at an event held Sept. 22 at ArtiCour Gallery in Ulaanbaatar, the capitol of Mongolia.

During the event, “American Artist Susan Fox -- The WildArt Mongolia Expedition,” she talked about the Expedition -- a collaboration between Mongol and western artists with a focus on conservation that is slated to take place in the fall of 2013 -- did watercolor demonstrations and gave a presentation to over 30 people. In the presentation she discussed her artwork, sketching techniques and her experience using an iPad as a sketchbook.

The next morning, Fox accompanied the gallery director, Janna, and an interpreter named Kaliunaa to the Union of Mongolian Artists studio building where she visited with six artists, using a slide show on her iPad to share her work with them. She said it was “well received.”

According to Fox, many Mongol artists have classical training from art academies in Moscow and St. Petersburg from the days when Mongolia was a socialist country. She was able to speak with them about how things changed when their country became democratic in 1991.

She said the biggest change they reported was that they could now create art in whatever style they wished. One artist told her that he had not been allowed to work in an impressionistic style until the change in government.

Fox knew from previous trips how much art -- and artists -- are valued and respected in Mongolia. She said she experienced an instant connection with people when they learned that she is an artist, and it made meeting the Mongol artists even more special.

For more information about her travels to Mongolia and the WildArt Mongolia Expedition, visit www.foxstudio.biz and www.foxstudio.wordpress.com.

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