Vincent van Gogh – Biography

“Vincent van Gogh was born near Brabant, the son of a minister. In 1869, he got a position at the art dealers, Goupil and Co. in The Hague, through his uncle, and worked with them until he was dismissed from de London office in 1873. He worked as a schoolmaster in England (1876), before training for the ministry at Amsterdam University (1877). After he failed to get a post in the church, he went to live as an independent missionary among the Borinage miners.

He was largely self-taught as an artist, although he received help from his cousin, Mauve. His first work were heavily painted, mud colored and clumsy attempts to represent the life of the poor(e.g., Potato-Eaters, 1885 Amsterdam), influenced by one of his artistic heroes, Millet. He moved to Paris in 1886, living with his devoted brother, Theo, who as a dealer introduced him to artists like Gauguin, Pissarro, Seurat and Toulouse-Lautrec. In Paris, he discovered color as well as the divisionist ideas which helped to create the distinctive dashed brushstroke of his late work (e.g., Pere Tanguy, 1887, Paris). He moved to Arles, in the south os France, in 1888, hoping to establish an artists’ colony there, and was immediately struck by the hot reds and yellows of the Mediterranean, which he increasingly used symbolically to represent his own moods (e.g., Sunflowers, 1888, London, National Gallery). He was joined briefly by Gauguin in October 1888, and managed is some works to combine his own ideas with the latter’s Synthetism (e.g., The Sower, 1888, Amsterdam), but the visit was not a success. A final argument led to the infamous episode in which Van Gogh mutilated his ear.

In 1889, he became a voluntary patient at the St. Remy asylum, where he continued to paint, often making copies of artists he admired. His palette softened to mauves and pinks, but his brushwork was increasingly agitated, the dashes constructed into swirling, twister shapes, often seen as symbolic of his mental state ( e.g., Ravine, 1889, Otterlo). He moved to Auvers, to be closer to Theo in 1890 – his last 70 days spent in a hectic program of painting. His died, having sold only one work, following a botched suicide attempt. His life is detailed in a series of letters to his brother (published 1959)”.

-From “The Buulfinch Guide To Art History”

     Martial arts has been a love of mine ever sence I can remember, there has never been any particular styles, but every one of them I came into contact with. I have my favorites, but I love them all.

     there are great benifits to learning martial arts, like self discipline, confidence, health, and the ability to have a better chance of protecting one self. We learne respect for our selves, and respect for others. something our country is falling short of. Not tweenty years ago the majority of those in our communities shown each other great respect. children were tought to respect there elders (though unfortunatly not all followed the teachings of the community). respect for their neighbors, but now day the majority has lost the idea of our fellow man and leaned towards the popular Idea of self first, the heck with the other guy.

     This is where martial arts come into play, it still teaches our children the concept of respecting their fellow human beings. it teaches them skill for a long and productive life. Martial arts teaches the next generation to have confidence in thems  selves, as well as to help others that may be in need. Martial arts teaches people to love to teach others, as well as have a fair and upright competitive spirit.

     Martial arts teaches women how not to be so vunerable to attackers, giving them a better chance at fending off a would be attacker before the even unfolds, most women who become victems actually walk around looking vulnerable an attacker percieves them to be easy pray.

     this is where the Black Belt Academy Tae Kwon Do of Edgewater comes in. we teach women and children self defense, and self confidence, we try to help them change what would be their natural reaction, into what an attacker would least likely expect. we try to teach them the art of fighting without fighting.

     we have recently started MMA training, for those wanting to have a more competitive ability.  we help those who only want to get into better shape, as well as those who just want to look somewhat like they did in their teens.