Joshua Scranton, an artist who in a specific way combined the wisdom and art of the East, with the tradition and heritage of the West. He views the wisdom from both cultures as extremely valuable and intern he portrays it in his art. Joshua’s art captures his external experiences and his internal thoughts. He portrays his life via Western and Eastern elements in his drawings and paintings.
You often explain the meaning of your work in a very impressive way. Here is an interesting example.
-My is art motivated by what I love the most in life. I love my Children, Dreams, the Bible, Mandarin, and Cyberpunk. I use these elements to create art that expresses ideas such as love, agony, resurrection, redemption, relationships, and intimate connection. All of these experiences are what gets us where we need to go and defines who we are. I draw and or paint to process my journey and consider my future destination.
Behind each of your works of art stands love, which is in the vast space between the cosmos and the earth.
-My love for my children has been so profound and has greatly influenced many art pieces. My daughter was my favorite model for years. My son or my “小男儿“ is the apple of my eye and he also appears in various digital works. You my ask why Chinese? My employer asked me to study Mandarin and my love of the Chinese languages just blossomed from there. I use Mandarin throughout my engineering and fine art work.
You often explain and interpret your works in a specific way, presenting the aesthetics and philosophy of your work. Here is an example:
-A recent conversation prompted me to repost these piece. You know I had never thought to put these two pieces together, but they literally talk about the same thing.
They both speak on love and marriage and what is important within each.
-The painting on the left or Love Connects is how essentially that to see your partner it must be through the lens of Jesus, and that he must be the center of the relationship. It can’t work without both of these attributes and that a person will never find the their partner unless they view their life through the same lens. Once they have found that person and bond with them, they own each other in a very literal sense. They both start to become new and redefined, while taking on taking on the color and or attributes of their partner. Thats why its so important to bond with the correct person. You will take on both their positive and negative attributes, when you bond with them.
-The painting on the right or Real Love is on the Inside and Outside has to do with lasting love and marriage, what it should look like, in my view. This piece specifically has to do with the ability to see the inner and outer beauty of a person and how that leads to a life long commitment with love. The characters 在内美，literally mean internal beauty, while the characters 在外美 literally mean outer beauty. The 在 character is hard to see, it means location, but its there if you look closely. That’s on purpose in the sense that sometimes the location of these attributes in a person are hidden unless someone takes time to look closely. Sometimes we are not to good at doing that. The middle character or 愛 literally means love, but it has very layered meaning as to what that is. I remember when I first learned this character late last year and I was blown away. The top part of the character is 手 or hand and means to hold hands. The second part is 冖 and this refers to a couple living in a secure house following marriage. The third part is 心,which refers to their heart and mind being bonded. In Chinese the heart and the mind are very connected. The fourth part is 又, which means again and that refers to having a child and starting a new generation.
-I remember when I first learned the Chinese character for love. I have never seen it the same since.
At first glance, it can be concluded that your creativity was primarily influenced by the system of thinking of the Far East. However, there are also values characteristic of Western culture.
Yes there is a lot of influence from the West as well. The Bible, primarily read in the West until more recently , has many valuable lessons, specifically impacts my art. Its influence has grown over the years as I have gotten older. Its funny cause actually the Bible is more of near eastern book, despite being adopted over the centuries in the West. The biblical concepts of redemption, resurrection, struggle, the light, dreams, etc have greatly influenced my art. I express these concepts from the Bible via digital art and Mandarin. I draw subject matter from my life, put my own spin on it, and insert Mandarin phrases. Many of these phrases are Biblical, but some are also phrases I came up with that reflect where I am at in life. I do have some help with Mandarin from some of my very talented Chinese friends. A lot of the phrases within my art have to do with whats on my mind.
The Deep Dive (Black and Red), Digital Painting, 45.72 x 30.48
You have combined two cultures and two languages. East and West, English and Mandarin. Do you consider it a magic formula for finding what is called “Life Happiness”.
I am not sure if there is a magic formula for happiness in life. However I do feel having a mind that is willing to learn from both the East and the West is essential for understanding of the world around us. In my view understanding leads to lack of fear of the unknown and therefore happiness. So maybe combining the East and West is the formula for happiness? The East and the West present a huge collection of knowledge for whoever’s eyes are willing to look and ears are willing to hear. We must open our eyes and ears to let the light in. Light is a thing that can be seen, but it can heard through a reassuring voice. This is hard for many as their eyes and ears have been closed, which leads to a calcified heart. I feel a person must walk against the current so our heart stays soft and fluid and ready to learn new things. In my Western culture its not popular nor very accepted to study an Eastern language such as Chinese, or Mandarin. When I started studying Mandarin I realized how unique the characters are, as they store history, culture, sound, and the character meaning. I specifically saw these attributes, while studying Mandarin characters for over a year. I studied old Chinese lesson books and a Chinese Bible. The Chinese Bible, is unreal, is a mix of simplified and traditional characters. The depth of the characters has many layers and in many instances it tells the story in much greater detail then the typical English translation. During the pandemic I gained a wealth of knowledge from studying the Chinese Bible. In my view the Bible is a living book, in Chinese it lives in a very large way. The characters literally reach out to ones heart via their visual language. I was so blessed to be able walk against the current and to let my heart be blessed with the Bible written in Eastern Chinese characters.
When you get the impulse to go this route?
I have the impulse to travel against the current and walk in this manner whenever I seek knowledge and or understanding. I have said for a while that every art piece I draw and or paint is lesson from God. Its a journey where I am taught through the photo research, the language translation, biblical interpretation, and creating the art. I am taught about a scenario in my life through creating a new piece. I get to reflect on the scenario, typically about someone or something that is close to me, and express it. It has been a huge blessing to go through this process, while creating alot of art.
We must chase the Light,
Vector Art, 30.48 x 45.72
Mr. Joshua Scranton, speaking of himself and his painting, concludes with the words:
Growing up I also took in all the cyberpunk and sci-fi movies, comics, and books I could get my hands on. My love for cyberpunk just continues to grow. It shows up in a very future shock sense in my art. My love for cyberpunk is an effect of my constant thinking about the future. I swear I dream in neon, while I draw what I love and dream about the most. I always remember and say “dreams are merely memories of the future.” 回忆是对未来的梦想”
Kayna Looking Ahead, Digital Painting and Calligraphy, 25.4 x 50.8
Denver, Colorado USA
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