J. Gordon Anderson - Contemporary Art

While in seminary I read through bits and pieces of Hooker's Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity , as I was told (or discovered myself) at some point that this work addressed many of the Puritan party's complaints against the established Church of England, particularly in the areas of liturgy and ecclesiology. This in contrast to earlier Anglican apologists, such as John Jewel, who wrote mainly against Rome. Growing up Presbyterian, and having imbibed the works of J.I. Packer - an Anglican of English Calvinist persuasion - I figured that Hooker would of especial interest to me... and he was, but I never got beyond those bits and pieces that I read piecemeal. Lamentably, while in seminary there was no time to give Hooker a more thorough read, as I was weighed down reading and studying interesting but no doubt non-Anglican works and writers (mainly documents from Vatican II, books by Avery Dulles and David Tracy, etc.). Never having read through Hooker's Laws completely, however, ...

The New Yorker has a great article about Charles Burchfield . It memorably describes him as a "one man movement." His art has something of the lonely quality of his friend, Hopper (and maybe Wyeth?), but there is a psychological, tortured side to it, which the article describes as not so much a commentary on the small towns where he lived and worked, but rather on on his own interior struggle with gloom and spiritual unease. One of my art professors compared a lot of my early work to that of Burchfield's. Not knowing who he was at the time, I looked him up and saw the similarity, though I think now my art looks rather different from his (not completely, but still different enough). But since that first comparison however I have always been interested in this great 20th century American master.

My family is moving to Maryland in a few weeks so I can serve as rector of a parish there. Moving is always traumatic for the artist. 1) There is always gobs of stuff to move. Artists tend to collect more 'junk' than your average folk... pictures, props, supplies, etc. not to mention his own work, so moving always presents a major challenge. 2) Losing a studio space (especially a nice one like I have) is very sad, because the artist gets used to his environment and to some extent it plays an important role in the creation of his work. It takes me months to acclimate to a new studio, which is quite disruptive to the artistic process. 3) While packing the artist cannot work on art or anything else very easily; packing takes up all of your time and energy. So this move, like all of them before, will be an artistic nightmare at least for the short term. But the bright side of it is that besides being closer to family and old friends we will be living in a major metropolitan area. T...

In December the family will be packing up and moving to Maryland where I will serve as rector of St. Alban's in Joppa, MD. As I am from that area, and was ordained in that parish, it is something of a homecoming. It goes without saying that I will miss everyone at my current parish of St. Francis in Virginia. Every time a priest moves to a new parish in our church it sets off a chain reaction, where the bishop has to scramble to find a man to fill the position that is opening up. In as small a church as ours his options are limited, whereas we do not have enough priests, and whereas those who are available may not have the desire or ability to move out of state, etc. I was lucky at St. Francis because I brought in a priest from an outside jurisdiction to help out, and he was later received into our diocese, and he will be taking over for me, but he was literally the only man in the region available to take over as priest-in-charge. The parish probably would have liked a choice of w...

I advise all artists who are serious about trying to promote and sell their work to start a website of their own, and then have business cards made that have the web address on it, as well as other contact information. My website over the years has helped generate sales, shows, commissions, and other forms of publicity. While a fair amount of work has to go into maintaining these sites, the payoff is generally far greater than the work involved. While starting and maintaining an art website is easy, organizing it is another matter entirely. There seem to be two approaches to organizing it: 1) it is simply an online gallery, showing your work over the years. Many successful, major artists do this. 2) it is an online clearinghouse and way to sell your work, with pricing and purchase information. Or 3) it is a little of both. I have to admit that I don't really know which approach is best. I've tried all of them over the years. What I do now is more like a combination of all thre...

A woman I dated a number of years ago - a ceramic artist - suggested to me once that my paintings had uninteresting names... names like, " Two Figures and a Yellow Book, Old Man, Lonely Old Man, etc. " So I started giving my art more fantastic names. Overall the reaction has been great, and I am glad I did it. The name of a work is part of the work, just as a person's name is part of who he is, and even helps define that person. A more unusual name also alters the way a person views a work of art. " Gray Buildings " vs. " The Last Memento from a Torrid Love Affair " evoke radically different thoughts when looking at the work itself. In my experience the unusual name helps the viewer engage with the art more. So I think a lot of thought go into a name - it shouldn't be chosen off the cuff.

I will be having a show of my work at S t. Matthew's Anglican Church in Weaverville (Asheville), NC from October 15th - November 15th. The show will feature some of my recent sacred art. The real special thing about this show, however, is that it is a "three priest" art show! It is a triple bill of my work, the work of Fr. Johann Vanderbijl , and Fr. Paul Blankenship , SSC. A portion of the proceeds will go to help Anglican mission parishes in India. Please come out and meet us at the opening, check out our art, and have a fun time of fellowship!

I sometimes forget that this blog is about life as an artist and priest, so I hardly comment on church matters here. But that has to change if I want to stay true to the theme of the blog. An interesting book I am reading now - just for "fun" - is Anglo-Catholicism: A Study in Religious Ambiguity. The author, WSF Pickering, is a sociologist and priest of the English Church. It examines the Anglo-Catholic movement with particular attention to the ambiguities that characterize it, such as how a church (the CofE) which described or understood itself as protestant for several centuries later was asserted to be truly catholic. It examines other themes as well, such as the ever interesting topic of the homosexual subculture that characterized anglo-catholicism, as well as the idea of there being several valid ways of being "catholic" in the anglo-catholic world. I'd be the first to admit that these ambiguities exist, but the reality is that similar ambiguities exist i...

An excellent article in the Wall Street Journal about art ownership, preservation, and the conflicts that can arise between the artist and the purchaser of art. I think these sorts of conflicts affect those whose art is more in the realm of "untraditional" - i.e. installation artists, sculptors who employ lots of found object, and so on. But even straight painters deal with this stuff from time to time. Having had at least one mural destroyed (I will never paint another mural again, by the way), I can sympathize with some of the concerns in this article. It can happen to anyone, including great and famous artists (such as Diego Rivera, for example).

We artists have to be excellent time managers, mainly because most of us pursue our craft as a side job. After working at the "day job", most people go home and veg out. But the artist can do no such thing. He must work on his a little bit craft every day, so he has to come up with a strict schedule and routine to make this happen. This is the case with all serious artists I think. Andy Warhol was known for following a very rigid daily schedule and working well into early evening. As responsibilities multiply, the need for making and following a schedule, and thinking through the artistic process, becomes even more critical. The ultimate game-changer as far as scheduling goes is having children. We just had our first child and this throws a wrench - a good one! - in everything. Something similar happened when I got married and lost my art studio in Baltimore City a number of years ago. I could not paint in oils in our small apartment, so that was when I got into egg tempera ...

While I appreciate the rediscovery and appreciation of traditional forms and approaches to art that are out there today with regard to sacred art I am somewhat troubled by the underlying message of some of the proponents of this type of art: namely that neo-Baroque, or neo-classical art and techniques are the best, and that anything modern or abstract is somehow lacking or unsuitable for sacred applications. Some of the greatest sacred art in the western world is in fact very abstract... abstract in the sense of not being representational but not realistic. The flat picture plane of many a painting by Fra Angelico, and the strange perspective of the works of Duccio have much in common stylistically with 20th century masters such as Ben Shahn. Those who think that traditional liturgical or sacred art must be neo-Baroque or neo-Classical are mistaken. The reality is that "modern" art can be used in any liturgical context and blend right in, as in this video of a Carmelite Mass ...

One of the major differences between being an artist and a priest - specifically the pastor of a parish - is that success as an artist is easily measurable and depends almost entirely on me, whereas success in the ministry is not so easily measurable and depends a great deal on other people. This latter fact is what makes the ministry so incredibly frustrating and even unfulfilling at times.

I am currently working on a large oil painting of the Coronation of the Virgin . It will compliment some of the other large religious oils I have done recently ( Annunciation, Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints, Baptism of Christ , etc.). Although these large paintings containing religious subject matter are notoriously difficult to sell, I find myself compelled to paint them from time to time largely, I suppose, for personal devotional reasons. They are a way for me to explore and somehow involve myself in the mystery of the event. But I also like to paint them for artistic reasons. Most of the great artists in the western tradition have painted religious subject matter, and I think every artist who wants to be a serious artist should attempt to tackle the great religious themes that have defined our culture (e.g. shown above is one of Andy Warhol's "Last Supper" paintings).

One of the greatest learning experiences of my life (in a variety of ways) was serving as a sales representative for a major stained glass studio out of the midwest. For a few years I represented the studio in the Baltimore and Washington, selling new stained glass and stained glass restoration for churches, universities, businesses, and homes. I even worked with clients at the beginning stages of projects designing windows, which designs were later given the studio's production guy to come up with an actual "cartoon" (the proposed layout of the window). We also made mosaics, doors and window frames, and even some furniture (the studio had a fully equipped wood shop with expert craftsmen on staff). Besides learning about how stained glass is made, cared for, and restored, I learned something of what goes into having a modern day ecclesiastical art studio. I would recommend that any artist who wants to start a major studio try to work with an existing one so he can see how...

There will be a show of my work at the Mauldin Cultural Center from July 1st to about July 16th. This is the cultural center's very first fine art exhibit, so it is quite an honor. The show will consist of about fifteen cityscapes. Do stop by and see it if you are in the area!

I was just given the opportunity to show my work at the Mauldin Cultural Center in Mauldin, SC. While the details are still being hammered out, I believe it will run for the first three weeks of July, and will feature cityscapes and icons. Stay posted for details!

I used to be much more generous in giving away art as gifts for special occasions as well as for no particular reason... just to be nice. There is nothing wrong with doing that, but now that I have been painting for a while I find that I will often sell works that are 4+ years old. Out of the blue someone will want to buy a painting that previously no one else had shown interest in. So I am reluctant to give away work even for special occasions that could otherwise be sold and help put food on the table. One makes a investment to be an artist - time, and certainly money. Materials cost money. At some point an artist has to try to recoup his investment or his career will be very short-lived (unless, of course, he has an alternate stream of income). I would advise my fellow struggling artists and those just starting out to be very cautious in giving away works of art. I am not saying it cannot or should not be done (sometimes it can lead to sales), but don't sell yourself short, and ...

The show at St. George's was a success. Several paintings were sold, and more will hopefully follow. The organizers said it was the best show they ever had in terms of art, general effect, sales, and attendance. Fr. VanderBijl even arranged a newspaper article in the local paper which came out beautifully. Thanks to everyone else who made the show so wonderful and exciting.

I thought it would be a worthwhile endeavor to go through some of the links I have on this blog and explain a little bit about the artist and his or her work and what it means to me. I hope that in so doing others will come to appreciate these artists and their work and also help the broader public think critically and intelligently about art and artists. The first article is actually before this post! Many people think that good art is simply "what they like." Indeed while discussing the new "New York School" abstract impressionist stamps that are available a postal employee told me that she is "... just one of those people who knows what she likes. (in art)" In other words, she can't explain why she thinks one piece of art is better or more appealing than another. To me that is a cop-out. It is quite possible to study various works and learnt to articulate what is good and enjoyable or bad and unenjoyable about it.

[This is the first installment of my artist link commentary.] I was recently informed of this amazing artist out of New York named Linda Sokolowski. I find her work to be quite moving and sublime. It is very subtle and understated in its use of color, shape, and value, but yet it is incredibly moving and powerful. Her work shows how some of the greatest art can be produced with a minimal use of the elements of art, but using them in a very skillful and deliberate way. Although they are generally rather low key (i.e. more on the darker side of the value scale) I find them to be very warm and comforting. She appears to work mostly on paper, especially in monotype prints.* (*Monotype printing is a type of printing making where only one print is made (hence the name). The image is painted onto a flat surface, such as glass or plexiglass, and then a piece of print making paper is placed on top of it, and they are run through a press.)

This month I will be having an art show at the gallery of St. George the Martyr Anglican Church in Simpsonville, SC. The show opens on May 21st and runs for about one month. It is something of a retrospective, as it will feature 40+ cityscapes and religious works produced from 2004 - present. Please do try to attend the show if you are in the area.

I have been meaning to post this link to an article I read in the Daily Mail about Peter Hitchens, the brother of the famous atheist writer Christopher Hitchens. It is fascinating on so many levels. But the reason I am posting it here is because in it he talks about how when himself was an atheist it was viewing a painting of the last judgement by 15th century artist Roger van der Weyden which lead him on the road back to God. What is even more interesting is that in viewing this 500 year old work he said that he came to understand religion as being something very much of the "present day" - not simply something from a distant and archaic past. This shows that traditional Christian imagery - even if hundreds of years old - can still speak to peoples' souls, and be used of God to bring about conversion in peoples' lives.

This is a pretty good article written by a contemporary composer.

Any artist who is worth his salt should have a desire to sell his work. I have always had this, and by the mercies of God have been able to sell a lot of work over the years. With my recent foray into religious art, however, I am taking a risk as far as sales. go. Religious art simply does not sell as well as secular art. I learned this when I was in stained glass restoration. The works of Tiffany Studios that bring the highest amount at auction are, in order, landscape/secular works, angels, and then his religious works. The idea is that religious works appeal to fewer people, so they are worth less than the secular pieces. With that in mind it is rather scary to be painting only religious works now! But while an artist should desire to sell his work, the inherent worth of his work, and of being an artist, does not revolve around sales. Like Alasdair MacIntyre suggests in After Virtue the good of certain acts is the execution of the act itself. It is its own reward. Art is one of thes...

This is a picture of my altar. It was here when we moved in, though I gave it a wash of dark paint, as one of the doors was a different tone from the other. The framing around the window will be covered over and painted the same dark brown, as will the triangular shape above it all, thus giving the appearance of a reredos. A sanctuary lamp will hang over the altar, on which will be two candlesticks and a tabernacle. A Crucifix will hang over the altar, fastened on the top of the window frames, and on either side of altar - to give the appearance of a diptych, will be icons of St. John and the Blessed Mother. This is the door to the oratory, and the other source of light. As I do not want to cut a hole into it, I will have to leave it open to increase the light in the room. I will also have to construct a set of stairs or a ladder to make access easier. I currently have to climb in, making it very private. This is a picture of the other side of the oratory. You can see the door to it. T...

This is the working name of my oratory that I am in the process of creating in an old 19th century outbuilding on the property. As a priest it is my desire to celebrate the Holy Eucharist daily. On the days when I am not at church I will celebrate here. It will also be used for prayer and meditation. The building sits right behind the house and next to my art studio. It is two stories, but there is no interior access from one floor to the next. The door that you see is to the bottom, which I call "the crypt"... it has these shelves lining the sides that look are the perfect size for bodies. I use it for storage. The oratory is on the second floor, and it is accessed by a second floor door that is not in the picture. The window that you see is the only light for oratory, with the exception of holes in the wood panel siding. My altar, which is made of a "found object" box-thing, was already in the space (it had previously been used for storage and was rather full of j...