Artistically, I thank God for delivering me to the patient and generous mentoring of several of today's finest artists, those who have each provided time, tutoring, and friendship. Admittedly, historical masters are my educators too, such as John Carlson, Birge Harrison, James McNeill Whistler, Edgar Payne, Emile Gruppe, John Singer Sargent, not to mention scores of living artists today I study from afar. So, whether living or historical, these masters have all aided my learning in their own way.
Interestingly, the foundation of my learning originates from a fundamental pursuit: "ad fontes." This Latin phrase means "to the source" or "to the font" and carries with it the sense of a subject's core essence, its truth, and truth is what the artist who have influenced me are seeking. Truth for the artist is most often correlated in an attempted expression of beauty. In this way, fine art is simply language, translating ideas about the truth into the language of beauty. The artist T. Allen Lawson once said to me that "Art is not found on the canvas, rather it is found in that space between the canvas and the viewer." Though I don't know if Mr. Lawson would use my ad fontes term, I have no doubt we are on the same journey ad fontes, a journey that has proved invaluable to both as an artist and a pastor.
Statement
This pursuit of elusive beauty and truth has brought me to be included in galleries throughout the United States at one point or another, accepted into the Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, the Salon International, and many other juried shows. I am privileged to be a founder of the Missouri Valley Impressionist Society (MVIS) and to have been published in Fine Art Connoisseur, (a premier international art magazine). What I cherish most is that many of the paintings have created "something" in that space between canvas and viewer and so has found a place in a handful of private collections.
Powered by Artwork Archive