Chaloi Leonty Small Oil on Cardboard Landscape with Tree in Rock, 1965 stony vase There was once a stick

There was once a stick extending down from the head

and framed in an old black-painted wood frame

and then at the bow a nicely carved cleat to round things out

army and allies during World War I-- certainly the message remains relevant today

an artist who I believe worked and taught in  North Carolina

Chaloi Leonty Small Oil on Cardboard Landscape with Tree in Rock, 1965 stony vase There was once a stickI've gone back to the same dealer in Russia three times now to purchase paintings by Chaloi Leonty, whose estate the dealer handles; I just think he was a really good landscape painter, and Russian prices are pretty good! This impressionistic oil on cardboard may be my favorite yet really a little gem of a painting, and I could look at that sunlit tree against painterly clouds and radiant blue sky all day. I might guess this was was painted along the