Surprisingly, these female figures were painted by a monk, the modern American monk Mark Arian.
Artist Mark Arian was born in the American West in 1947. He began drawing from an early age – at first he copied illustrations from children's books and popular magazines, and entered the University of Missouri after graduating from school. In 1968, he decided to become a monk and settled in one of the monasteries. At the same time, he traveled the world studying the works of Dutch and French artists...
Over the past three decades, the artist has created numerous paintings, painting ornate murals for the Golden Palace and The Wheeling Civic Center in West Virginia.
