A Life Celebrated – John Molnar

{John Molnar August 7, 1960 – October 13, 2010}

This week is a very special celebration, a celebration of the life of an artist who was funny and inspirational, an abundantly talented artist and a mentor to many. This man who was also the love of my Aunt Cathy’s life, and her soul mate, and I had the good fortune to call him my uncle. After fighting a rare blood disease that grew into Leukemia very recently, he passed away last week at 50 years old. In the words of my Aunt Cathy “John was a mentor to so many of you and he’s left behind a legacy of art that will keep his memory and spirit alive forever” – I couldn’t agree more.

I wanted to share with you all an amazing artist and I hope you are able to find some inspiration from him as well!

{Shotgun Cottage on Frenchman Street} and my most prized possession.

You can actually see brush strokes with single hairs in this painting…”amazing” doesn’t do it justice.

{Oil Painting commissioned by my parent’s for Charlotte’s first birthday}

Over the last week, I have wondered many times if John knew just how many people he inspired and moved, and I have come to the conclusion that he couldn’t have possibly imagined! Personally, my career choice in the arts was driven by both my parents and my aunt Cathy and uncle John.

Let me explain why John was so incredible {if you aren’t totally smitten with his art work already} –

John worked both in oil and a medium called casein. Casein an old medium that’s milk based and has been used by many famous artists and has become “forgotten” in a sense.  In the words of Jack Richeson, “John has taken painting in casein to its highest level. In the fifties, casein was an important medium used in illustration. John has not just taken it into a new world, but also brought back an important part of history”

John gave his art not just life, but a soul. To see his work in person would astound you! His work has been recognized with numerous awards and he has been featured in The Artist’s Magazine , American Artist, International Artist, Art Avenues, and John was one of a select number of artists to be featured in the book “My Friends, Today’s Great Masters” published by Jack Richeson.

{Mrs. Howland’s Dream}

As if that wasn’t enough, John was teaching at Workman Arts in Toronto in both Art fundamentals and En plein air painting. Workman Arts is an incredible organization, here is their mission – “The mission of the Workman Arts Project is to support aspiring, emerging and established artists with mental illness and addiction issues who are committed to developing and refining their art form and promoting a greater understanding of mental illness and addiction through film, theatre, visual art, music and the literary arts.”  How amazing to use art for something so life changing.

Here are a few more of my favorites, and I strongly encourage you to visit his website to see more!

{Edie’s Barn}

{Norwegian Draught Pony}

{Jim Loeb’s Meadow}

I hope this week you will take a moment and celebrate the life of the amazing artist and inspiration to many, John Molar. If you can enjoy a glass of wine in his honor (while wearing flip flops), that would be the exact kind of celebration John would be proud of.