The Traveling Chinese Artist

A little off topic tonight.

I first encountered him, when I was maybe eight years of age.  He had a temporary display of paintings at The Hub department store in Steubenville, Ohio.  To my young eyes, he was an older Chinese man, an artist who captivated me with his amazing finger paintings of various blossoms, plants, scenes and tigers.  Oh my, the tigers were truly fantastic pieces, haunting, eyes following you, whatever your vantage point, ready to leap out of the canvas at any moment.

The Hub in its own right was an interesting thing. A big city department store in a small Midwestern town, with stores in other cities around the state, and maybe beyond.  As I understand it, the store actually leased departments or floors out to larger department stores such as Macy's and Gimbels, and whatnot.  It featured a range of mid to upscale product lines, and in my case was a source for some of the more interesting toys of the 1960s and early 1970s.

For a period in the early 1970s, I believe in the late summer, each year a traveling artist would display his water color finger paintings and offer them for sale for a couple of weeks at the store.  He would set up an easel and paint while at the store, talking to passers-by and prospective buyers all the while.

When I first encountered him, I had recently started painting with acrylics, and had never seen finger painting taken to an art form.  His paintings were wonderful and very inspiring to me.  As a result, I spent quite some time watching him paint, noting his method, the consistency of the paint, etc.

He in turn noted my interest, and began talking to me, already understanding that I had more than a typical child's interest in painting and art, and took some time to share more detail about his method and style, conveying his passion for what he did, and inspiring me to paint  and create.  He explained that I had a gift, discussing the shape of my hand and fingers as being an indication of ability, and leaving me with enduring inspiration to pursue my artistic interests.

He also shared how he came to be an artist, which is one of the reasons I share this story here.  He had been a soldier in China, and fought against Japan.  I remember him as being similar in age, or just slightly older than the WWII veterans that I new as a child, and so I'm guessing that he fought in the second Sino-Japanese War starting in 1937.

During a battle, his unit was overran and he was captured by the Japanese, ultimately being held in a prison camp for some time.  He described being held in some sort of cell or space with masonry walls and described how he started finger painting pictures of prisoners and guards on the walls using water from puddles and dirt from the floor. 

The Japanese noted his paintings, which were apparently quite good, and he was given paint and ordered to paint a portrait of the commander of the prison, which as I remember it was given to the officers wife as a gift.

After some time, the Japanese started killing the Chinese prisoners.  He was made to paint portraits of the various officers, and occasional high ranking visitors of the prison.  In time there were few prisoners left, each being kept alive, because they served some purpose to their keepers.  In the end, he survived the war because of his ability as a painter, eventually made his way to the United States, and decades later, inspired a little boy on his path to becoming a professional model builder.

He was one of several major sources of inspiration during my life, and I think of him from time to time, wishing I had opportunity later in life to learn more of his art, and his history.   I don't know his name, but if by some chance, you do, or think that you might have come into contact with him, please share your experience (and maybe his name).