A Bridge Between Cultures
by Stacy Endres
Much like the Chinese fables she paints, Caroline Young's life is a tale of marvelous turns of fate and, perhaps, bits of magic. When she was only a few days old, she was left on the doorstep of a Hong Kong orphanage. Eleven months later, a young Chinese-American couple, Thomas and Betty Young, came to the orphanage looking for a child to adopt. They had no success finding the right child and left disappointed. But as they were pulling out of the parking lot, Betty suddenly asked Thomas to stop the car. "I know my daughter is in there," she said," I hear her voice calling me in my heart." The minute they went back inside, they saw Caroline. A worker who had wanted to keep Caroline for herself had hidden her in a closet until the couple left.
"My mom's intuition brought my parents back to find me," Young says. "I know my life would have been much different if not for her faith."
It's hard to imagine, 52 years later, a more perfect life for this artistic soul. Her path from a Hong Kong orphanage has crossed bridges between cultures and led Young to a unique place as a painter, inspired by both ancient techniques and vision. In her home studio in Galena Forest, off the Mount Rose Highway, Young produces masterpieces of the gongbi, or "delicate" style of silk painting, a technique that has been practiced in China for over 2,000 years. Her work has been described by gallery owners and fellow artists as comparable to that of the great masters and her paintings are in private and public collections worldwide.
"Her paintings are filled with both beauty and historical interest," says Mark Richardson, whose Richardson Gallery of Fine Arts represents Young locally. "They evoke emotions in the viewer. They have an uplifting, charming and soft quality, with very precise images and brilliant colors." Young gracefully interprets the myths and legends of Chinese culture—gods and goddesses, emperors and great beauties, warriors and heroines, animals and the nature of the universe—with a specific goal in mind.
"Through my art, my mission is to share these stories with generations who have no knowledge of their legends," Young says. "I'm also always looking for my roots, trying to find out more about myself and connections to Chinese culture." Like the legends of King Arthur or the characters of Grimm's fairy tales, the subjects Young brings to life have traveled down through the generations: Stories of the Four Great Beauties of China, the Celestial Sisters, the Manchurian Emperor, the Weaving Maiden and her Cowherd, and Kwan Yin, Goddess of Mercy.
While her exquisite paintings appeal to people of all cultures, they have proved particularly meaningful to families who share her remarkable experience. "So many American couples are adopting Chinese children today and bending over backward to keep cultural connections for them," she says. "Paintings are a great way to introduce these stories to their children."
"I don't think of myself as an orphan," Young continues. "I had great parents who loved me as much as any parents could. But I always have this feeling that things are not lasting."
As a young girl growing up in Hong Kong, Young's mother encouraged her to draw. As a teenager, she practiced traditional Chinese brushwork, taught by well-known Hong Kong artist, Alice T. Chen. After graduation, Young moved to Hawaii, the birthplace of her parents and grandparents, to attend the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. But she had no aspirations to become an artist and majored in French, with plans to become a teacher.
One day a college friend invited her to attend a Chinese watercolor class taught by Lam Oi Char. "I was totally enthralled," she says. "Instead of just an art class, she went into the background, history and mythology."
Lam Oi Char became Young's mentor and "Calabash mom," or "Yi Mu," the Cantonese term for a second mom or godmother. As well as teaching her techniques in painting, Lam Oi Char went to all of Young's art openings in Hawaii. The two remained close until Char's death in the late 1990s.
"Lam Oi Char changed my life," Young says. "Without her teaching and guidance, I would not have developed the confidence to become a professional artist." Young began a series of portraits of Japanese women in traditional dress, and in 1983 exhibited the paintings in a two-artist show in Honolulu. Her work caught the attention of art publisher Images International of Hawaii, who asked to represent her. Her career as an artist soon caught fire.
In the late 1980s, Young's interest in her Chinese heritage was awakened by several cultural events, such as the critically acclaimed film The Last Emperor and the 1989 bicentennial celebration of the Chinese immigration to Hawaii. She began to paint Chinese historical and legendary subjects.
Then in 1989, at a booth at the Los Angeles Art Expo, she was introduced to her future husband, Les Zieba, then vice president of sales and operations for Addi Galleries in Reno. A long-distance relationship gradually blossomed into love and then marriage. In 1992, she moved from Hawaii to Reno to join Les, who currently serves as her business manager and marketing agent.
"The serenity and seclusion here in Galena Forest are really good for me, and I'm blessed with my neighbors," says Young, who adds that living among the trees was one of her "requirements" prior to moving to the area. "When I'm starting a new drawing, I have to have total silence. I can't be sidetracked onto something else."
The detailed brushwork demands many hours of dedication, and Young's paintings take anywhere from three to six weeks to complete, working eight to ten hours a day, one painting at a time. She mixes her own Chinese and Japanese watercolors using inks and pigments from vegetable and mineral materials, such as crushed lapis, malachite and cinnabar. Layer upon layer of color are laid upon the silk. Her mixed media prints are enhanced with gold foiling, mezzotint etching and embossing and debossing on pearlized paper.
"Traditionally, Chinese painters use very muted colors," she says, "but my style is a combination of their traditional techniques and themes and the brighter color palette of the West." She has produced a number of collections of paintings, based on specific legends or themes of Chinese heritage, and every year produces a new image from the Chinese zodiac. Her newest limited edition, Peerless Beauty, celebrates the Year of the Rooster, 2005.
Young's unique artistic vision has put her work in very high demand. Her paintings have appeared in many selected exhibitions, one-woman shows and in published limited editions. Two of her paintings are on permanent display at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana and the Pacific Asian Museum in Pasadena. She has also been a featured artist on the PBS series Spectrum. Her work is represented by a number of respected galleries in Hawaii, California and elsewhere, including Reno's Richardson Gallery—she was a featured artist at the gallery's grand opening 11 years ago.
Her paintings can be found online and in a spectacular new hardbound book, The Art of Caroline R. Young, containing over 60 beautifully reproduced images, the stories they illustrate, commentary from Young's peers and in-depth discussion of her techniques.
In person, Young is as beautiful and delicate as her brushstrokes at 5 feet, 3 inches tall and 103 pounds. She keeps in shape with daily walks in the forest with her beloved dogs, Sugar and Kai. "They are my kids," she says.
For more information, visit www.carolineyoung.com or www.escoltafinearts.com, which includes video of Young walking in Galena Forest and talking about the myth and legends behind her paintings. To see Young's work in person, visit the Richardson Gallery of Fine Art, 3670 South Virginia Street, Reno, (775) 828-0888.