A 27 sq ft work of art by A.VonnHartung for the students of Colegio (High School) San Juan Bosco at Parroquia Maria Auxiliadora, Cantera, San Juan, Puerto Rico (Párroco Padre Colacho SDB).
Commissioned by the Director and Theology Professor, Padre Jorge Santiago SDB .
Was installed in the main hallway of the school on the Feast Day of San Juan Bosco 31 January 2017.
The painting expresses an Epiphany of Faith, Joy, Love of Community and Learning, so much evident in the Christ-filled spirit of the school.
Next to Sacred Art, portrait painting is for me a deep spiritual experience, a prayerful endeavor.
In and through the physical characteristics of the person being painted is a map guiding me through and beyond emotions to near where the soul of the person lives. Here I coax the soul out, so-to-speak, with whispers and fleeting glimpses through compassion, intuition and something mystical. This hopefully endows the finished image with a FEELING of who the person being painted IS.
I always speak in the present tense of portraits because they have a soul and the soul always lives and is present. AVH
“Love Lives!” (Manuel Diaz and Family) pastel portrait by A.Vonn Hartung 2014
Today is Earth Day. What better moment to pay homage to the noble “El Jíbaro Puertorriqueño”, the Puerto Rican cultural icon!
“El Jíbaro” symbolizes to me the “salt of the Earth”
“El Jíbaro“ Oil portrait by A.Vonn Hartung
“El Jibaro Puertorriqueño” is a painting inspired by my neighbors who have cultivated the land of their ancestors from the beginning.
Don Pepe represents for me all those who still cultivate the land; living links to our past, sustenance today, and hope for abundance and sustainability in the future.
He represents, on the one hand, the constant battle between the so-called permanence of concrete and asphalt, which is quickly engulfing our fertile land and drying up our lakes and rivers due to urban sprawl and the overwhelming dominance of the automobile as a symbol of impoverished planning.
And on the other hand, the stability and sustainability through cosmic spirituality, which, along with intact families, are our guarantee of a healthy, harmonious continuity, which must offset the suicidal (or more aptly expressed, planeticidal*) race to deplete our natural resources.
*the killing of our own planet
This painting was inspired by my neighbor Don Pepe “el Múcaro” (the Owl) O’Neill, whom I am proud to call my friend. May he rest in peace!
Hoy es “Dia de la Tierra” ¡Que mejor momento para rendir homenaje al noble “El Jíbaro Puertorriqueño“, el icono cultural puertorriqueño!
“El Jíbaro” simboliza para mi la “sal de la tierra”
“El Jíbaro Puertorriqueño” es una obra inspirada por mis vecinos que han cultivado la tierra de sus antepasados desde el principio.
Don Pepe representa para mí todos los que todavía cultivan la tierra; vínculos vivientes con nuestro pasado, sostenimiento hoy y esperanza de abundancia y sostenibilidad para el futuro.
Él representa, por un lado, la batalla constante entre la supuesta permanencia de hormigón y asfalto, que envuelva rápidamente nuestra tierra fértil y seca nuestros lagos y ríos debido a la expansión urbana y el abrumador dominio del automóvil como símbolo de la empobrecida planificación.
Y por otro lado, la estabilidad y sostenibilidad a través de la espiritualidad cósmica que, junto con las familias intactas, son nuestra garantía de una continuidad sana y armoniosa que debe contrarrestar la carrera suicida (o mejor expresada, planetacida*) por agotar nuestros recursos naturales.
*la matanza de nuestro propio planeta
Esta pintura está inspirada en mi vecino, Don Pepe “el Múcaro” O’Neill, a quien me enorgullece llamar amigo. ¡Que en paz descanse!
(“El Jíbaro” es un retrato en óleo 16″ x 20″, colección del artista)
A 27 sq ft work of art by A.VonnHartung for the students of Colegio (High School) San Juan Bosco at Parroquia Maria Auxiliadora, Cantera, San Juan, Puerto Rico (Párroco Padre Colacho SDB).
Director of School Padre Jorge Antonio Santiago SDB with artist Arturo Vonn Hartung and Felix “Junior” Rodriguez
