A Day in the Life of an Artist-Priest

Has it been that long?

2011-12-01T04:49:00.001-08:00

No, not about posting to this blog, but about painting! It occurred to me the other night that when I moved back to MD in December 2010 I really did not have my studio set up until July 2011 when we moved into our home. I was able to get some painting done in my office at work - some icons - but no oils, no cityscapes, landscapes, etc. Or at least not to the degree and intensity that I was able to in VA. So now when I paint I feel a bit out of shape, as it were, but overall am heading in the right direction, getting used to it again, and enjoying all of my new materials and my new studio.

I have said it before and will say it again: moving is highly disruptive to the artist!!

Interiors

2011-10-13T19:11:00.000-07:00

After a tumultuous year of moving twice, getting settled at a new church, and receiving a tremendous gift of tons of art supplies, I am now organized and slowly getting back to work. What I am working on now are interiors and some landscape and animal paintings inspired by the wonderful farm where we lived in Newport, Virginia. After years of painting cityscapes I decided that I needed a break from it. I am also looking forward to trying some new mediums, such as pastel, and getting reacquainted with old ones that I used to do a lot of work in, such as watercolor.

Cattle Painting

2011-09-09T06:02:00.001-07:00

I was recently given many of the art supplies of my first cousin once removed, the artist Noel K. Edwards, who passed away over a year ago. The supplies include oil paints, watercolors, paper, pastels, stretcher bars, canvas, brushes, and more. This is a tremendous blessing as purchasing such supplies is very costly. Even though the paints are very old and many in rather poor condition they can be reconstituted in most cases because they are of very high quality.

Noel was an avid painter of landscapes and wildlife. (I was also able to acquire a number of his works). The animals he especially enjoyed painting were cattle, bison, birds, and dogs. He worked in watercolor, pastel, pencil, and oil. He was always nice to me and (in addition to my mother and Bob Ross) one of the people who inspired me to paint.

As though I were channeling him I have recently begun painting cows. When we lived in Virginia the property where we lived was surrounded by cattle, so they became a part of our life. I loved listening to their mooing, grunts and other noises. There is something inherently relaxing about looking at cattle. So I took tons of pictures and am now starting to paint them using the materials I acquired from Noel. I hope he is pleased! And I hope I can paint them with the same love, care, skill, and feeling that he did!

Artist and Priest - Part 2

2011-09-02T17:26:00.000-07:00

In my previous post I commented on one of the differences between being an artist and a priest. In this one I want to briefly comment on one of the similarities. (Note: there are obviously many differences and many similarities between the two vocations. These that I mention are but two.)

Both the artist and the priest struggles to get people to care about what they do. Or put another way, the vast majority of people do not care what an artist does or what a priest does! Both vocations involve a great deal of internal struggle and self-discovery, and after that struggle the person wishes to share what he has learned and how he has grown with others to help them in some way.

How discouraging it is when he learns that despite his blood, sweat, and tears, and his years of labor most people could care less about his work or ministry! The vast majority of folk are not interested in art or God. Instead they are content to settle for kitsch and for idols.

The only way to survive the artistic ad priestly vocation is to expect rejection. In terms of the artist, he should expect to be a Van Gogh. In terms of priesthood he should expect to be a Jeremiah, or Jesus. Any success, or any message conveying thanks, is to be understood as an exception (a very welcome exception) to the rule.

Artist and Priest

2011-08-29T13:34:00.001-07:00

These two vocations, while complementary in many ways, are also very different from each other. One of the ways they are most different is in terms of relating to others.

Being a priest is being "other" centered. He is by definition an intercessor on behalf of someone else. This requires a great deal of self-sacrifice in the form of serving others and ministering to them in the name of Jesus Christ. This is especially true for parochial priests who have a regular cure of souls, and even more especially true for married clergy (such as in the Anglican tradition) who in addition to church responsibilities have family responsibilities as well.

Being an artist on the other hand is in many ways being "self" centered. To achieve excellence in his craft he must spend a great deal of time alone, producing and perfecting his art. Interruptions by others are very taxing and disruptive to the creative process. Artists have to be stingy with their time if they ever hope to achieve excellence and success.

In short, both vocations require self-sacrifice, but in very different ways. This tension is one that the artist-priest simply has to live with and try to hold in balance. That is what I try to do, and believe me it is very hard to do!

New Home, New Studio

2011-08-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the dearth of posts. We have been in the midst of a move and are just getting settled. I am happy to say that we have a great house in a splendid area of Baltimore county, and that I have a fantastic art studio. I am presently at work on a painting of the crucifixion with Ss. Mary and John and angels. Will post more photos and commentary soon!

Artists and Collecting Art

2011-05-27T14:37:00.001-07:00

Many famous artists were art collectors. Degas comes to mind. Many of artists I have known like to collect art as well. My wife (also an artist) and I enjoy collecting art. What is interesting is that artists very often collect art that is different from their own. This is true of me. Most of the art that we collect is different from our own. I tend to favor ecclesiastical art, architectural design/drawings, natural art, and pencil drawings - all very detailed. This is different from my own art, which is rather abstract. I've often wondered why I collect this sort of work. The reason is perhaps that it is so different from my own: I collect what I do not wish to try to paint or draw myself. Most of the works I collect I could do myself - if I were interested in art purely in terms of decoration. But I have no desire to do that type of work - so I buy it - and paint as I do, can, and must. And, like other artists, I do collect my own works. I have a few that are not for sale because I like to keep them for my own collection!

Theology of the Icon - Leonid Ouspensky

2011-05-19T17:12:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading "Theology of the Icon" by Leonid Ouspensky. As I have been working on a number of icons for some upcoming shows I decided to read a systematic treatise on the subject. Ouspensky is an expert on it - an iconographer himself, and also something of a theologian, as he co-wrote a book on the subject with the famed Orthodox theologian Vladimir Lossky. This book is a great introduction to the theology of icons. It is readable (quite an achievement for a Russian who was transplanted in France!) and informative. It touches on the history of iconography and, as one would expect, spends a great deal of time on the Iconoclastic Controversy.

As a theologian and historian I found the book quite interesting, but as an artist I found it somewhat lacking. While he does a fairly good job of explaining why Roman Catholic art is "religious" but not "iconographic" (the former because of it's subject matter, the latter because it is essentially too naturalistic) he does not explain where the formal line of demarcation is between religious art and iconography. One wonders what he would think of the art of westerners like Duccio or Massacio, and if their works would qualify as icons in his mind. Artistically his theories are extremely vague, and leave enough wiggle room to allow for quite a variety in iconography. Perhaps this is a good thing, and perhaps it explains the great deal of variety in iconography that has always been out there. While his theological ideas are, however, very enlightening and much more objective (e.g. the icon portrays a transfigured man and universe) how he translates that into actual composition and technique is an entirely different matter. To some degree his dismissal of Renaissance and Baroque art is very subjective - as in his critique of a painting of St. Agnes where she is scantily clad, thus leading him to ask, "Who could pray before an image like that?" The answer is "lots of people." I have been told by many people in my day that they do not see icons as being images that lead one to prayer and devotion! So, the subjectivity of art is unavoidable, even in "religious" art (iconographic or otherwise).

The book did make me think about whether or not it is appropriate for western churches to be decorated with icons when they are not venerated or otherwise acknowledged in the life and liturgy of the church. Because they play such a central role in the Orthodox tradition, do we not somehow desecrate them if we have them hanging around a church like a decorations? Perhaps not, as he may cite canons from Nicea II that exhort the faithful to display icons all over - even on the street... but still, I wonder.

Overall this is a great book to read, and I recommend it for all artists, especially Christian artists, even if they do not agree with his principles or conclusion. It is certainly the best guide to understanding Christian iconography.

Art Opening: Atlanta, GA

2011-05-10T05:17:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release:

I will be showing 16 new pieces of sacred art July 13th - 15th at the Anglican Province of America Provincial Synod, which will be held at the Holiday Inn-Perimeter 4386 Chablee-Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, GA 30341. All of the work will be for sale. There will be 11 icons and 5 oil paintings. Please e-mail me for more details.

Stained Glass and Painting

2011-03-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

When I began painting I wanted to copy some of my idols like Richard Diebenkorn and Ben Shahn, but the problem was that their styles were very different. Diebenkorn's figurative work emphasized shape, while Shahn's (in many cases) line. How to reconcile these two opposite elements and make them work together in a compelling way has always been something of an artistic goal of mine.

A real breakthrough happened for me when I began dealing in stained glass restoration. Representing a large studio out of the midwest, I roamed the churches of the Baltimore-Washington region studying and cataloging the beautiful windows. It finally occurred to me that these windows had in themselves exactly what I was trying to do in my art. The lead lines combined with the shape of the glass to make a gorgeous work of art.

To some extent my work - especially my later cityscapes in oils - approximates this. The messiness of stained glass - the visual clutter, and the effort that such clutter requires of the viewer - all of that is something that I like and try to bring into my work lately.

Some Thoughts on the Evolution of My Work: Subject Matter

2011-03-18T17:13:00.000-07:00

I began painting simply what was around me... my environment. While in college, living in the country, I painted landscapes. Upon moving to the city after graduation I began painting cityscapes. Coming from a devout Christian home, and trying to be one myself, I had a certain interest in painting religious scenes, but never did anything with it until St. Mary's.

My first religious painting was a large oil painting of the Annunciation, which I painted while in seminary. It was a reasonably successful work and I ended up selling it some years later. I dabbled with religious works while in seminary doing some that were good, and some that were not so good. The reason I started painting religious works was simply because I was in seminary and I thought I should give it a try.

After the seminary I went back to painting secular work, probably because of the bad taste seminary and the church left in my mouth... perhaps also because I was not so pleased with the few religious pieces I tried. It wasn't until ordination that I went back to exploring religious themes - icons.

Icons were something that I always wanted to try, and since I had to give up my art studio when I got married, I needed something I could do in our apartment that did not have the bad fumes associated with oil paints. So it was partly for utilitarian reasons that I started doing them. But also because I still wanted to explore Christian art. Particularly I wanted a way to aesthetically combine the two great interest of my life: art and religion.

Icons helped me learn to enjoy painting religious works for their own sake. Even if were not a priest or in the ordained ministry I would still paint them as well as other religious works, because now I appreciate them for what they are themselves, and as a way to meditate on and involve myself in the great stories and themes of the Christian faith.

Back to work!

2011-02-06T16:04:00.000-08:00

I have now been back in MD for well over one month, serving as rector of St. Alban's parish in Joppa, MD. This is the parish where I was ordained, so there are lots of friends here. Additionally it is in the region where I was reared, so it is something of a "homecoming" being here. My priorities in the church are youth, music, preaching, and missions - essentially in that order. Having been around the block a bit as a priest and churchman for so many years now I think that our continuing Anglican parishes are weakest in these areas.

The youth are my main priority. It is heartbreaking to see so many pictures of youth who once attended the church and who, though they live in the area, no longer attend - not even for Christmas or Easter. Our continuing Anglican churches specialize in this failure so it seems. The strangest thing about it is that it doesn't seem to bother anyone - either on a parish or institutional level. Why do so many kids grow up in our churches and yet they stop attending - our church, or church altogether? Why don't we have the numbers of families that other churches have?

One possible reason is that our churches simply do care for youth of any age. Continuing Anglicanism is primarily a church for old people... not that there is anything wrong with ministering to old people, but just that it is very 'exclusive' and will not provide a future for our churches. I saw this - this lack of interest in youth - as early as when I was in seminary. The old guard at my parish largely looked upon me with suspicion, and the rector was not all that interested in me. No young people were in any position of leadership in the church, and if they were (such as our young curate) he was looked upon as a possible "trouble maker" and "enemy" of the rector.

Today, as a parish priest, I see on an institutional diocesan level that the continuing Anglican churches generally speaking have no interest in youth, as there are hardly any young people in positions of leadership in the diocese, as most churches have no youth programs or even an idea of the importance of developing one, and as there are not even the most basic resources for catechizing the youth. There are, to be sure, a few bright spots here and there, and they are to be lauded (such as diocesan summer camps). But we need more, and it has to begin at the parish level.

So that is my number one goal here at my new parish... to reach children with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and raise up, by God's grace, devout Anglican and Catholic Christians who are equipped and excited about serving God and His One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church!

Happy 2011

2011-01-26T11:51:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the dearth of posts. The end of 2010 was quite busy and dare I say traumatic with having to move. My family has no relocated to Maryland where we live outside of Baltimore metro area. As this is home to us it was a welcome move. Here in MD I serve as rector of a small country church.

Unfortunately on the trip up some of my art, including my very first painting, was lost. That was the "traumatic" part of the move. Luckily the rest of my work escaped major damage. My work is mostly in storage now, as are my supplies and my studio equipment, because we are living in small condo while looking for permanent housing. It goes without saying that the bulk of my energy lately is being spent on the church, getting settled, etc. so I have not been able to get back to work yet. I hope to begin painting again next month, and work on small icons to sell later this year.

The nature of my vocation as a parish priest in a "continuing" Anglican Church has necessitated moving around from state to state and parish to parish. These moves are quite disruptive artistically, but are necessary if I hope to serve God, move up the ladder, and get the experience to minister more effectively. I take great joy in ministry and art. In the former this is confined almost exclusively to parish ministry, while in the latter I enjoy everything about it. Soon enough I hope to return to the joys of painting!

Journeys in Hooker

2010-12-02T15:34:00.001-08:00

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, was troubling to me, and something that I have always wanted to do. (NB: I am astonished how many people do not finish reading books - not only sets, but even a single book. Indeed I was shocked when I was told a number of years back by someone whom I thought to be an aspiring academic that "she never finishes books.")

So now that I have some time on my hands I have been working through Hooker, beginning at the beginning, and outlining each section of each chapter or each book. I have found it necessary to summarize each part for my own study as the whole work is written in a ponderous Elizabethan style. (It is interesting by the way, the predicament that those wishing to read the Anglican reformers face. Because the works are in "English" they do not have to be translated. But in fact they do require translation as they are written in a very archaic and usually difficult to comprehend English.

It has been quite worthwhile and interesting so far, especially as the first part of his Laws is essentially a restatement of basic Thomistic thought in the areas of law: eternal law, natural law, divine law, etc. What I think reading the Laws piecemeal leaves out is that Hooker will build his entire argument in those later contentious areas of polity, liturgy, and sacraments, on this Thomistic foundation. This is noteworthy to me because many seem to think that Thomism came into Anglican thought only after the Catholic revival, but here one of the greatest Anglican thinkers of Elizabethan times structured his seminal work on the natural philosophy of St. Thomas! I think therefore it is fair to assume that in continuing to read the work as a whole it should be understood in light of its Thomistic foundations, not set in opposition to it as some would have.

Charles Burchfield Show at The Whitney

2010-11-25T05:15:00.000-08:00

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.

Moving Blues

2010-11-17T18:23:00.000-08:00

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. There will be world class museums within easy driving distance, and lots of creative stimulus. Country life is nice in moderation, but at this stage in my life I am more interested in the conveniences and excitement of the city and the suburbs.

Still, I will always remember my time here in Virginia and in this church and this gorgeous country setting with fondness and nostalgia. I thanks God for this time and for all of His blessings while here.

Moving to Maryland and Crisis of Vocations

2010-11-09T06:16:00.000-08:00

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 who the new incumbent would be (who wouldn't?) but the reality of the situation is that there was no one else available. Other clergy and parishes are not even that fortunate.

This is why we need more men - especially young men - to commit themselves to serve as priests. Without vocations the church will die. Yet many men do not see serving as a priest - especially in continuing Anglican jurisdictions - as a viable career option because we are so small, have so few options, churches, etc. Young men want to give their lives to something that is organized, focused, thought-out, and has a plan for the future... and that has a future. Yet these qualities are what is often lacking in our churches. I am not even sure if our churches have an overall plan or strategy to attract young men to the ministry... I never hear anything about it at the few meetings we go to, or reports that are sent out. Inasmuch as we do not have a seminary - or even a dream or plan for one, and inasmuch as we have only the vaguest guidelines for preparing for Holy Orders, I can only assume that this is a very low priority for our churches.... and yet this is one thing that the church depends on to survive, and more important to fulfill her vocation to be the sacrament of salvation.

Artist Websites

2010-10-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

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 three. My site shows older works that are already sold but which I feel represent me and my style the best, and it also shows works that are currently for sale. But with the latter prices are not listed. This is to encourage people to contact me about pricing, which I can be flexible with, etc. depending on the circumstances (both mine and the buyer). In the past I had prices listed, but I think people were scared away by them, even though I am always ready and willing to negotiate prices, and they probably could have gotten the piece they wanted for a price they could afford.

What's in a name?

2010-10-08T06:01:00.000-07:00

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.

Art Opening: Asheville, NC - October 15, 2010

2010-09-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

I will be having a show of my work at St. 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!

Ecclesiastical Ambiguity

2010-09-04T04:49:00.000-07:00

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 in other traditions, and even in the Christian religion itself. Learning to live with the ambiguities and charting a path through their midst to arrive at truth (a person, not a proposition) is what is key. I suppose life as an artist make living with ambiguities rather easy, as art itself is a rather ambiguous pursuit.

Who owns the art?

2010-08-31T10:38:00.001-07:00

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).

Time Management

2010-08-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

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 and exploring iconography. Eventually I got back into painting in oils as I found space and my wife and I worked out our schedules. For right now I am still trying to adjust to life with a baby. I cannot bring him up to the studio with me because I am concerned about fumes, so I have to stretch canvases one day, prime them another, do sketches another, paint another, and so on.... all of this around my work and home schedule. I have to paint only when I know I will have a serious block of time available. I have to decide what medium is best to use considering these limitations.... e.g. this may be the time to do some more icons as I can work on them downstairs in the house and there are no toxic fumes.

All of this is to say that, contrary to popular belief, the artistic process has to be very rational, orderly, and well-thought out in order to be successful. An artist has to adapt to the circumstances, such as studio space, time limitations, financial limitations, success, etc. if he wants to even begin to have success.

Modern Art

2010-08-07T17:11:00.001-07:00

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... notice the very modernistic and abstract reredos behind the altar.

Art and Priesthood

2010-07-28T12:10:00.000-07:00

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.

Currently working on...

2010-07-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

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).

Art Studios

2010-07-04T04:38:00.000-07:00

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 the business works, and how one goes about dealing with and promoting his or her work to churches.

As I begin doing some commissions for churches, the next logical step may seem to be to start a "studio" that designs liturgical objects for use in churches. Honestly though, after my involvement in the stained glass studio and seeing what it takes to do that and make something of it, I can honestly say that is the farthest thing from my mind. In many cases the creative mind behind the studio - the founder for whom it is named - ends up running a business, not creating art. Further, one must have strong connections with the architectural community. Most new churches that commission new large works of art, such as altars, reredoses, and stained glass do so through the architect. An artist wishing to start a "design studio" has to know how to find out about new jobs, how to spec them out, whom to contact, and so on. It is very involved, and learning how to do that, and then call people, set up meetings, etc. is often too much for people not interested in sales to handle. In addition, many churches have higher authorities to answer to on large scale art projects - such as a diocese - and these often have regulations which make it hard for an artist to get work into a church: i.e. preferred contractors, ceilings on how much may be spent, etc.

None of that interests me. It is much more appealing to me as an artist who wishes to have complete control over the creative process, and be an artist, to be "small time" in the world of ecclesiastical art... to do a few commercial commissions here and there, but otherwise still create, show, and sell art that - if it is sacred or secular - meant primarily for private, individual buyers.

Show Confirmed

2010-06-22T04:40:00.000-07:00

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!

Another show

2010-06-15T10:43:00.001-07:00

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!

Brief thoughts on giving away art

2010-05-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

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 keep in mind that you have to recoup production costs at some point!

Thanks to everyone who came out for my show.

2010-05-23T14:08:00.000-07:00

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.

Explanation of Links

2010-05-12T18:43:00.000-07:00

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.

Linda Sokolowski

2010-05-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

[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.)

Art Opening - May 21, 2010

2010-05-07T09:50:00.001-07:00

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.

The Power of Art

2010-03-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

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.

The Church Needs Artists and Artists Need the Church

2010-02-26T04:56:00.000-08:00

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

Painting Religious Works

2010-02-05T14:30:00.001-08:00

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 these. That is something that I remind myself of lately. My current focus on religious works is good in itself, as would be painting some other subject that is equally less saleable. But then for me, painting religious works also has a teleological aspect to it, and take son a deeper significance. That is, it deepens my devotion to God. I do it as an act of devotion - art in general, and especially the religious works. That is ultimately worth more than any amount of money!

More pictures of the oratory

2010-01-16T15:13:00.000-08:00

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. The small window below it is the only window to the "crypt" below (see previous post for explanation - there are no bodies down there!). Behind the oratory is our house. The red building the left are horse run-ins which the landlords use.

Another view of oratory. The building behind it and to left is my art studio. The one on the far left which you see part of the roofline of is our house.

The Oratory of the Holy Cross

2010-01-16T14:11:00.001-08:00

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 junk). It is going to sit in front of the window - the only place for it, but the window is tall enough so only about half of it is covered. I'll keep the entrance door open when I celebrate to let enough light in.

The main challenge at this point is stabilizing the flooring, and working on the altar and appointments. The challenge is to make something rustic and country-looking, but also something dignified and early Christian - all with as absolutely little modification done to the building itself since we just rent this wonderful property. I am trying to make a faux reredos behind the altar - something that gives the feel of a reredos but isn't actually one, as I need to allow light to come through the window and can't cover it completely. I also want it to tie into the altar - which is a dark brown. The idea is to visually clean up the rough wood and framing around the window by installing some painted panels, and then make some pieces of art to go over those panels. I am also going to construct a crucifix, tabernacle and sanctuary lamp, some candlesticks, and a credence table. Eventually I'll make some kneelers. I'll post some pictures as I make progress.

Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints

2009-12-26T18:14:00.000-08:00

Here is a painting I recently completed entitled "Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints." The saints are (left to right) Anthony of Padua, Louis of Toulouse, Francis of Assisi, John the Evangelist, Lawrence, and Peter Martyr. It is a conflation and contemporary interpretation of two Fra Angelico paintings. The medium is oil and the support is canvas. It measures 48" x 60" and is for sale for $2,500.

Years ago I never would have done something like this because I'd have thought it unoriginal. But now that I am a little older and little wiser I can safely say that I no longer have any interest in being "original." I agree with C.S. Lewis that the more "original" one tries to be the less original he ends up being!

My next large scale oil painting will be "The Coronation of the Virgin", which is a theme that has always fascinated me and that I've often wanted to try to execute.

Eric Gill

2009-12-20T13:14:00.000-08:00

While reading Peter Anson's biography, "A Roving Recluse", I came across the name Eric Gill. Gill was an English artist-lay Roman Catholic theologian/thinker who was very prominent in the arts and crafts movement. He was a brilliant artist who attracted many apprentices to work under him. He completed numerous high profile commissions, including a series of Stations of the Cross found in Westminster Cathedral. In addition he developed many new fonts and typefaces that are still in use today. On the literary front he wrote learned essays on economics and religion.

Anson was friends with Gill. They had much in common: both were converts to Roman Catholicism, both had a lot of interest in religious life, and both were artists. Anson spent a lot of time with him and his family, which lived like a quasi-religious community, with daily mass (they had a chaplain), and recitation of the Divine Office (in its Dominican form). Since he spoke so very highly of him in Roving Recluse, and since I'd never heard of him before I thought I'd look him up on the internet. What I found was fascinating. It turns out Eric Gill was quite the sicko. He was a sexual pervert of the highest caliber who had sexual relations throughout his life with his own children, with animals, with men, as well as with his wife. Apparently he went mad before he died of lung cancer at a pretty young age. One of the things that freaks me out the most about this guy is that Peter Anson thought he was so great, and such a wonderful and holy man, despite the fact that Gill flaunted his sexual misbehavior! It is well known today. In fact, there was a movement to have his "stations" removed from Westminster Cathedral because of his openly scandalous life - especially involving the abuse of minors. Personally I would not condone removing such beautiful pieces - even if a sick person did create them. I tend to hold Anson in high regard, but here he is completely off base.

Examples of Gill's art may be seen here. It speaks for itself. The religious work is quite good - nice graphic art, but a few of the examples reveal his bizarre sexual proclivities. A biography of this strange man is available, and there is some provocative information on him at this website.

The Church - enemy of artists?

2009-11-25T14:38:00.000-08:00

I took time recently to the pope's talk given to artists in the Sistine Chapel. It was very good, and a good effort by the pope to build bridges with artists. He said that beauty is "capable of restoring enthusiasm and confidence, and can encourage the human spirit to rediscover its path, to raise its eyes to the horizon (God), and to dream of a life worthy of its vocation." That is some nice stuff! I really like Pope Benedict XVI's commitment to beauty and dignity in worship. It is evident not only in his writings, such as "The Spirit of the Liturgy", but also in how he vests, how he conducts the liturgy, and the recent changes he made with things like the "Motu Proprio" and his overtures to Anglicans.

Unfortunately the church is very often the enemy of beauty, and therefore the enemy of artists. This antagonism is manifest in the little thought or care clergy and people give to beauty in worship or in their churches. For example, when a parish plans activities such as missions trips, or a food drive, there is often lots of fanfare accompanying it, and everyone congratulates you on doing this "wonderful" thing. Or if a new copier needs to be purchased a massive fundraiser is set up to buy one. But if you say that you want to buy a set of solemn high mass vestments, or a new chalice or ciborium to make worship more beautiful and dignified the attitude is often, "Why do we need that? Don't we already have one? Who cares? It's only worship we're talking about."

Sadly this is often the case with "continuing" Anglican parishes, where corners are cut and things are done "on the cheap". My heart has sunk when I have seen ugly, run-down buildings and tattered rags serving as vestments in some of these places, and then see that the parishioners homes look like palaces! What a bad attitude - the complete opposite of King David's attitude when he wanted to build the Temple. And I think that is why man of our Anglican parishes are moribund - we do not care about worship, and so long as we don't care about that, we will neither thrive nor prosper spiritually or otherwise.

Medieval Polychrome Statue

2009-10-16T06:16:00.001-07:00

I found this great video on YouTube from the Getty Museum that shows how a medieval polychrome (painted wood) statue was made. Very interesting, with computer graphics and all!

Stations of the Cross - update

2009-10-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

So I have begun a series of Stations of the Cross for the church. This is a major undertaking for a "part time" artist, as there are fourteen of them to do. While working on these I also have a few other projects going, such as painting icons to sell to raise money for church and other needs. So far I am about 3/4 of the way through the first one.

The stations that I am doing are executed in egg tempera and will have 24K gold gilding in the background. The work involved in a project like this is massive for the "part timer", and is why it takes so long to do projects like this):

- finding existing "stations" to base my design ideas on

- doing preliminary sketches and studies until satisfied

- buying wood panels, cutting them to size, sanding them, and painting the backs

- mixing the traditional gesso, and gessoing the panels several times, sanding between coats

- doing the final drawing on paper then transferring it to the panel

- scoring the image into the panel

- applying the gold

- painting the painted parts

- letting it dry and then lacquering it

- photograph it

- add a hook so it can hang on the wall

Do all of that 14 times.... and don't mess up on any of the steps, and in a year or so, for a part time artist, there should be a complete set of custom made stations!

A new canvas

2009-09-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

Here is the nave of St. Francis Anglican Church, the parish where I serve as vicar. When I first laid eyes on this place it struck me as being very stately and ordered, but also very plain and dull. Much of this was due to the plans of the original architect - a prominent church architect who was also a Benedictine priest. Benedictine churches and abbeys tend to be minimalist and austere. When St. Francis bought the building in the late 70's few changes were made. The main changes were the colors. As St. Mary's Catholic Church it had a pastel color scheme. St. Francis stained the wood dark and put in red carpeting. A modernistic building, erected in the late 40's, was made to look like a Victorian church in terms of color. I am not quite sure it worked; or it didn't work as well as it could.

I am hoping, over the next few years, to do a huge redesign of the church to make it more suitable for Catholic worship. Plans include Stations of the Cross (which I am currently working on) executed in egg tempera and 24K gold gilding; a shrine to St. Francis of Assisi on the left hand (Gospel) side reredos complete with votive rack; a chapel dedicated to Our Lady - the Chapel of the Annunciation - on right hand (Epistle) side reredos. It will consist of an altar, a large gilded and tempera triptych of the Annunciation above, fleur-de-lis down the side panels of the reredos, and a gilded rays and a dove coming down from above after the manner of the rays in Bernini's "Ecstasy of St. Teresa". The carpeting will be taken out in the chancel area and sanctuary and replaced with new tile (the original tile is under the carpeting - but being from the late 40's it resembles more bathroom tile than ecclesiastical tile). I'll talk about plans for the sanctuary in the next post!

Egg Tempera

2009-08-29T05:03:00.000-07:00

The past few years I've taken up painting in egg tempera, mainly because I've been trying to learn to paint ("write") icons - which are traditionally done in that medium. For those who do not know, egg tempera is using pure powdered pigment and egg yolk as the vehicle, or stuff that makes the pigment viscous. Oil painting uses oil as the vehicle, watercolor water, and so on. Egg tempera fell out of favor with artists by and large when painting on rigid substrates (boards) gave way to painting on canvas. But still many artists use this medium, and some are quite known for it, including the late Andrew Wyeth.

I actually am finding that I like working in egg tempera more than painting in oils these days. It is much more suitable when painting small pictures as it is easier to control and makes less of a mess. The subtlety and layers you can get with it are amazing. Also one of the things that an artist has to take into consideration is storing and selling his work. Smaller works are the way to go for both. Oil paintings, at least how I do them, have to be pretty large for me to get the desired effect, but then they sometimes take a long time to sell, or they take up lots of space. Lastly, there is a peculiar look to egg tempera works that is especially suitable when painting religious scenes, which is what I am doing these days.

You can learn more about Egg Tempera here:

http://www.eggtempera.com/

http://www.eggtempera.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempera

This is where the "genius" happens...

2009-08-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

Here is my art studio. It is awesome - as big as a two-car garage. I have never had this much space with this much lighting, nice views (not evident in these night time photos), climate control, etc. It is still a work in process. I'll be building a storage space for my paintings and have various stations set up for chemicals, hot plates, etc. Elsewhere on the property I have an area for a wood/mosaic shop, a place to throw pottery if I ever decide to get back into that, and places to store all of this stuff. This is a real blessing from God. An artist, if he is serious, needs dedicated space in which to work and store all of his supplies... a place that is both functional and comfortable. Thanks be to God for this space!

My current "long-range" art projects include a set of the Stations of the Cross, a large crucifix for use in a church, and a picture of St. Francis to be raffled off to raise money for the church. Otherwise I am finishing up a Madonna and Child enthroned and surrounded by angels.

Buy My Art - Help My Parish

2009-07-06T18:13:00.001-07:00

Please go to my website (www.jgordonanderson.com) and click on "New Paintings" to see several icons that I have for sale. Like all of my icons and other art, these are my own original drawings, and are not based on traced templates. Proceeds from those icons will go to help my parish, St. Francis Anglican Church. We are a small, struggling mission parish. And besides needing money to pay our regular bills, we need money to do long overdue renovations on our facility, restore some of our appointments, and buy new appointments.

I also have other works of art available on the site for sale in each category, and I will donate a portion of those sales to the church as well. If you have any questions, or want more detailed information on any of the works (size, medium, better photo, etc.), please e-mail me.

16th and 17th Century Spanish Art

2009-07-01T05:12:00.000-07:00

I've got to get to London to see this show...

A Roving Recluse

2009-06-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

I have been reading Peter Anson's spiritual autobiography entitled "A Roving Recluse: More Memories". For those who do not know who he was, he was an Anglican convert to Rome, and a prominent author on numerous subjects, especially those related to art and liturgy. For a time he was monk in the Caldey community, and later, with the whole community, made submission to Rome.

We seem to have much in common: a "roving and reclusive" spirit, a background and strong fascination with liturgical art and design, disdain for mathematics or anything else that does not interest us, love of the Church and religious orders, and more. One of the main traits we share is an interest in beauty and solemnity in worship.

He tells of his experience visiting the great Anglo-Catholic shrine parishes and communities, and also Roman parishes and religious communities in England and on the continent, and being overcome with the beauty and mystery of the services replete with chant, incense, lights, etc. That such accouterments were not standard in the CofE was one of the things which lead him to doubt its Catholicity.

I wonder what he would make of churches today, particularly his beloved Roman Church? Sadly the vast majority of American Roman Catholic parishes have a liturgy and building that is banal and iconoclastic. Like most contemporary churches (save the Orthodox perhaps), the Roman church has largely succumbed to "pragmatism" in worship, where the summum bonum is how "accessible" and "fast" the liturgy is. As an artist I protest this tendency. Even though many churches are doing the right thing in proclaiming moral and doctrinal truth, the Church by and large is weak and moribund because those very truths are packaged and sold in postmodern and pragmatic bubble wrap.

Truth does not go by itself, but rather must have a visible expression in beauty and goodness. In short, the Church does not do nough if she simply proclaims the truth. That truth must overflow into beauty and good works and goodness.

Beauty, Truth, and Goodness

2009-06-08T16:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted something. I am just very, very busy with parish work. Thanks be to God that I have an assistant now, as that will lighten the work load a bit. Anyone who wants to come and do an intern should call or e-mail me at the church. We can't promise much (or any) money at this point, but we could sure use the help.

The life of a parish life is exhilarating and exhausting, encouraging and discouraging, and rewarding and unrewarding all at once. One of the things that has made my time here at St. Francis so tiring thus far has been living at the church. While it has been a blessing in most ways (for example I have become intimately familiar with the physical plant and its needs), it has been difficult because I am always "at work". Soon we'll be moving, and we'll be able to relax a bit. Plus, the church will get back much needed space to use for coffee hour, class rooms, etc.

God sends many graces to help us through difficult and trying times. Some of these for me have been my art and music. Years ago I began to paint and study the classical guitar. Since then I have put many, many hours of study and work into these activities, and it has been worth every minute. In a world that grows seemingly increasingly uglier one simply cannot put a price on devoting his life to that which is true, beautiful, and good. After a stressful day I can relax with my wife, and then in the evening lose myself in the Renaissance lute music of Dowland, Holbourne, and others; or the music of Spanish guitar composers like Francesco Tarrega or Fernando Sor. Likewise, I can paint all sorts of interesting things, and work on art projects from icons to landscape watercolors. I really do not know what I would do without those activities. They bring so much beauty and wonder to the world, and to my world. I think the quest for beauty, truth, and goodness is one of the reasons why I became an Anglican years ago. The simple, elegant beauty of the classical Prayer Book and the Authorized Version of the Scriptures is unparalleled.

A life devoted to truth, beauty, and goodness is never boring or wasted. In fact it is the pearl of great price and the very gateway to heaven, the divine, and salvation.

Jesus in Blue Jeans sculpture

2009-05-14T05:39:00.000-07:00

I think it's pretty good. It is on some Roman Church in Essex. It would be out of place on a more traditional building, but on a modern/postmodern building I guess it fits right in.

Classical Realism

2009-04-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

I have become obsessed recently with studying the classical realist movement in art, and with learning about the atelier model of classical artist training. Art students have suffered for several generations because they have not had an adequate foundation on which to build. My art education was a modernized novus ordo type of art education: it had many of the elements of the older, classical model, but they were rehashed and reprocessed, and run through so quickly that one did not understand why one was doing them in the first place. The atelier model attempts to correct all of that, and classical realism is the name for these types of artists. The atelier model is essentially an internship, or apprenticeship. One typically signs up for these schools and attends them Monday-Friday, 9 - 5... like a job. They last for four years typically. Some of them teach sculpture along with painting, so you come out being able to sculpt and paint well. Obviously if you do something like that all day for four years you'll get pretty good at whatever you're doing. It is a good education, and all artists should have it, but it needs to be adapted to fit within the modern university system. I can think of many folk who would like to study these methods and improve their basic skills, but could not commit to a traditional apprenticeship type of schedule. Nowadays going to college even part time is hard enough. I hope as time goes on the methods and pedagogy of these schools will get back into the traditional university system. I think if these methods merge with some of the best insights and practices of the contemporary training model something very interesting and exciting will result.

Stations of the Cross

2009-03-27T13:37:00.001-07:00

I think my major artistic project for the year is going to be a set of Stations for the church. We need some here, but do not have the money to buy a decent set. So being the artist I am, I am going to make a set and donate them to the church. The key will be to make something traditional that compliments the design of the church. The interior is very austere and Benedictine.

Depicting Religious Scenes in Contemporary Art

2009-03-07T07:15:00.000-08:00

One of the major problems I have encountered in the few religious works that I have done is trying to make them both contemporary and traditional at the same time. It is wrong to think that the only thing one must do to create good contemporary religious art is render the figure in a realistic, neo-baroque style. That is part of it (to some degree), but there are other factors involved too. What is constantly overlooked I have found is what the people in the painting are wearing and their surroundings. If you paint them in contemporary clothes and in a contemporary setting - well, it looks sort of strange in most cases (in my opinion). If you paint them in Roman dress, it doesn't seem very contemporary! What is the solution?

New Home (in June)

2009-03-02T13:41:00.001-08:00

My wife and I are moving into an awesome 19th century farmhouse out in the country in June. The great thing about it is that it not only has tons of room for the three of us (she, the cat, and me), and that it has cheap rent, but that it has a huge room for an art studio over the garage. It also has several out buildings, one of which I hope to use to make some mosaics.

Those who are not artists have no idea what it is like trying to find a good studio space. It's really hard. You have to find something that is big enough, has enough lights (a basement will NOT do), is close enough so you can get there and paint when you want to, and is cheap enough. I have painted in a million different studios and locales, from factories, to garages, to rooms, to basements, but I honestly think that nothing is going to beat this!

Elizabeth Peyton - Awesome Portraitist

2009-02-08T12:40:00.000-08:00

Here is an interesting article about Elizabeth Peyton, a very successful contemporary portrait painter. I like the simplicity of her work and the vast fields of color. It is reminiscent of Richard Diebenkorn and Milton Avery in that respect, but in terms of the expressiveness of the faces and the eyes it evokes Shahn, though in perhaps more of a refined way. The best art is pure simplicity - like God. The article is also interesting because it traces the history of portraiture in the 20th century.

The Iconic Obama Image

2009-02-05T05:54:00.000-08:00

The guy who created the "iconic" portrait of President Obama is being sued by AP because his image is based on a photo taken by an AP photographer which AP "owns". The artist's lawyer argues that this qualifies as "fair use" of the image. In my opinion this is nothing but greed on the part of AP. They obviously would not be doing this had the image not become so successful. It also raises interesting questions about who owns images. Say an architect designs an iconic building, and a few years later an artist paints a picture of it as artists often do. Say that painting later becomes famous in its own right - can that artist be sued? Can the Picasso estate be sued by Bass Ale because some Picasso's paintings contain pictures of Bass Ale bottles? The artist who made this portrait of the president created his own unique work of art. What about musicians who use the same guitar riff? It is just too fantastic what the AP is trying to claim. Yes, the Obama was based on an existing image, but the artist made his own out of it. The existing image was simply an inspirational jumping off point.

RIP Andrew Wyeth

2009-01-19T16:22:00.000-08:00

Andrew Wyeth died the other day. He was a big influence on me, partly because of his style, partly because of his technique, partly because of his attitude, and partly because he was so derided by much of the art establishment. They considered him more of an illustrator rather than a fine artist. But I thought him a modern master. He painted frequently in egg tempera, a medium used in iconography. In reading his biography a few years ago, and some of his interviews and other writings, I thought he had an amazing grasp on the medium and its possibilities. His watercolors were also stunning. That is the hardest medium to paint in, and he - in just a few strokes - could create an iconic piece of art. Only a true master could do that.

I appreciated the way he spent his entire life exploring the Chadd's Ford countryside and the areas in Maine where he painted. To dedicate yourself to something so "ordinary" (mid-Atlantic American countryside) - and to really squeeze the "juice" out of it is quite profound. And to pull such amazing art out of something that so many of us take for granted is absolutely magical. I had always hoped to meet him someday, but I guess that isn't going to happen now. My cousin, the artist Noel Edwards, met him a few times so I suppose I will have to live vicariously through him in that regard. He will be missed. If you ever get up to Chadd's Ford go to the Wyeth museum, go see their home where they grew up, and all of that stuff. It is well worth it. And get a coffee table book of some of his work.

Church removes scary crucifix

2009-01-09T05:33:00.000-08:00

I think it looks cool, but if it is scaring young children, and everyone in the church hates then maybe it is best to move it to off the premises and to a museum.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/7816941.stm

The Rewards of Being an Artist

2009-01-07T05:47:00.001-08:00

Being an artist is just as intense and demanding a vocation as being a priest. Like the priesthood, the artistic life has its highs and lows, and ups and downs. But the rewards of both vocations are immeasurable. I have been very blessed to touch many lives through my art - from people around the world. Recently I was sent this note about an icon that I did: (I gave it to a client who passed it on as a gift, and the client sent me the comment that follows.)

"The crucifixion painting you gave me has already been a treasure. As you may know, I suffer from phases of deep depression and take medication for that depression, but as with all things, there is a very spiritual dimension to my depression. When I am able to look at something like a painting of the crucifixion, it both makes the crucifixion real and brings me great comfort. I am going through such a time right now and this afternoon I propped the painting up by my bed so that I could look at it as I tried to rest. So I thank you very very much for it."

It is a tremendous blessing, and very humbling, to be able to touch so many peoples lives artistically and ministerially.

Traditionalism in Art

2008-12-09T16:47:00.000-08:00

One of the major difficulties in being an artist is the problem of being "typecast". Successful contemporary artists, and the artists that are famous in art history, have a particular style (e.g. Monet), or always paint a particular theme (e.g. Morandi). This is problematic for artists who want to flit around and do a little of this, and a little of that; or paint this way one day, and that way the next. You feel like you are not free to change, and just paint what you want. You have to paint what your public wants, or what they expect you to paint. Believe it or not, this is a problem for even us ultra-small time artists.

Broken and Bent

2008-12-05T18:45:00.000-08:00

"Broken and Bent" Oil on Canvas, 2006

Life in the city. Conveying flatness and depth at the same time. Overlapping. Integrated. Confusion - but making sense. Mystery in the ordinary. Ordinary mystery.

2008-11-30T16:12:00.000-08:00

My wife and I were talking about watching Bergman films, and she commented on how dark and depressing they are. Made me think of this great clip from Woody Allen's film, "Play it again, Sam."

Article in the Roanoke Times

2008-11-25T07:32:00.001-08:00

Here is an article that the Roanoke Times did on St. Francis Anglican Church and my arrival. In the print edition the article is entitled "Renaissance Man of the Cloth". That's kind of snappy sounding!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

JGA+

Bare Bones of Nature

2008-11-13T15:14:00.000-08:00

Living in south Florida for two years I'd forgotten how much I loved the deadness of winter... particularly when the leaves fall off of the trees. The "bones" of nature are revealed, and the underlying structure of everything, and all of the lines and shapes that form the framework of the trees is laid bare for all to see. It is tremendous inspiration for painting.

Back to Painting

2008-10-21T18:12:00.001-07:00

I am back to painting now after several months of packing, moving, unpacking, churching, ministering, etc. It is nice to feel the brush in my hand again. There's no suitable place to paint in oils here at my new home so I am working solely in watercolor and egg tempera. I found some good egg tempera sites, by the way, here, and here. It is a great medium because of the subtlety of and quality of the brush stroke you can get, and because it works with the ease of watercolor, but has the permanence and versatility of oil painting. I have been doing some landscapes, and will soon go back to painting buildings, I guess.

That reminds me of a funny story. A lady who came by and did a TV news story on the church recently, when she found out that I paint said, "Oh, so do I. I am taking art classes in college. But I can't paint in oils because whatever you paint is there forever. I am not good enough to paint in oils because there is no room for error." A lot of people have told me that over the years actually. But the moment I hear that I know that they know nothing about painting at all, because oils are the most forgiving media of all (uh, ever hear of layers of paintings being done on a single canvas?). Oils can be layered on top of each other to no end, whereas watercolor cannot. watercolor is the unforgiving medium.

Art School Confidential

2008-09-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

Anyone who wants to see what most art schools are like, and what most art school students are like needs to watch the movie "Art School Confidential". It was on my "to watch" list for a couple years, and I finally got around to watching it a couple of nights ago. It's quite comical, though you might have had to go through an art program to understand some of the jokes. I can personally say that it is very accurate: it captures all of the different types of folk in art programs, the deep-sounding but meaningless philosophical lingo, the PC crap, etc. Check it out if you are interested.

Cleaning up

2008-09-12T05:47:00.000-07:00

Today (my day off) I am going to clean up one of the rooms here at church so I can hopefully do some painting in there. An artist has to have a studio. I haven't painted anything for a month and a half and am anxious to start back again....

Arts Ministries

2008-09-03T16:04:00.000-07:00

Why do all of the revisionist churches have arts ministries, and not churches that adhere to the Catholic faith?

I am going to start a gallery at St. Francis, God willing!

Reviving Christianity's Artistic Tradition

2008-09-03T04:36:00.000-07:00

This is one of the best things a church could do:

http://www.zenit.org/article-23524?l=english

I have been too busy lately with my new parish. Too busy to paint. Too busy to post. When I get settled and into a groove I will probably start doing some landscape paintings of the beautiful SW Virginia landscape.

Landscape Blues

2008-07-17T16:55:00.001-07:00

My wife and I had dinner at a swanky yacht club recently with some parishioners, and there was a gorgeous painting by A.E. Backus in the dining room. Backus is a legend on the Treasure Coast of Florida, and is credited with teaching the original artists of the "Highwayman" school of painters - a group that I refer to as "Florida's version of the Hudson River School". The beautiful painting - which I didn't get a picture of - made me lament not painting landscapes myself. I started off doing landscape, and used to do it exclusively (in the Bob Ross style), but once I began my formal art education I switched to other subject matter. But there is something infinitely satisfying and appealing about landscape art. The natural world speaks to all people. One of the few such paintings I have done recently is pictured.

Landscape is actually much harder for me to do than other subjects - I think because it is already very abstract. It's easier for me to take a very ordered scene and abstract it. But to work from something that is already abstract and organic is very difficult. Then there is associated factor of capturing light, special details, and so on, which is best done plein air, but which I hate doing because of bugs, wind, people, etc. Yet still, as we get ready to move away from Florida (my home state - fourth generation... born in Coral Gables), I feel bad that I have not tried to paint any Florida scenes while living down here for two years.

One of the hard things about being an artist is trying to decide what to paint. Once you learn to paint, you can pretty much paint anything you wish, so the real difficulty becomes focusing in on something and sticking with it for a while. I get so worked up doing paintings of a particular subject matter (cityscapes, religious works, etc.) that it feels awkward at times trying to break out of that mold to do something new. So that becomes its own obstacle which is simply added to any technical difficulties surrounded with trying new subject matter.

No Religious Art

2008-07-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

A friend with whom I have collaborated on some art projects before is going to be having a show at a Washington, DC gallery, and was told that the works we collaborated on could not be shown as "religion" is not permitted in the show. When he informed me of this I responded as follows:

"I am not surprised that work with religious themes is being banned by these facists. I was asked (twice) to participate in shows down here, but there was a similar ban, so I boycotted them. So much for "open minded" people. And there is usually no rhyme nor reason for such censorship. I could see, if you were doing a show in the West Bank or something why there might be certain stipulations like these, but to encounter this in the USA (and especially in DC), where churches, and synagogues, mosques, etc. are on every corner, and an established part of everyday life, is really quite strange. Such bans actually display a great deal of cultural ignorance and stupidity, especially when they come from institutions that are seeking to be "relevant". Religion has formed our culture, continues to do so, and will always do so for millions of people from all walks of life. By attempting to take religion out of the public square in this and similar ways, these institutions show themselves to be special interest cliques that are completely out of touch with average people around the country and world."

Vatican says images of BVM breast-feeding are okay

2008-06-25T06:41:00.000-07:00

Finally, an art-religion related story that is worth reading! Maybe we Anglicans need some images like this in our parishes. Check out the story here.

Technology in Service of Art

2008-05-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

I have decided that need to overhaul how I update my art website. Keeping that thing current and looking halfway decent (at best) is tons of work. It takes away gobs of time from painting and promoting my art. But it has to be done, as it is the best way of promoting my work. I only have so much time to devote to keeping that dinosaur updated, so I have to do it in the most time effective manner possible. The problem is that I don't know how to do it. Maybe my wife can offer some suggestions as to how to streamline the process.

Being an artist is not easy. A lot of people think it is only about creating the work, but there is so much more that you have to do. You have to conceive the work, do studies and prep, buy supplies, create it, photograph it, store it, promote it, schlep it around to shows, maintain websites, and on, and on, and on. Each of those steps have a million little steps involved in them. Promoting your work and trying to get shows, for example, is incredibly time consuming, as you have to research possibilities, prepare packages of information, pay to apply for shows, and more. I suppose when (if) you become famous you can have "your people" do those things for you, or you can pay a web designer.

Anglican Way Institute Summer Conference

2008-05-20T10:33:00.001-07:00

The Anglican Way Institute is holding a summer conference on the theme of Finding Grace Through the Sacraments. It will be held July 2nd - 6th at the Church of the Holy Communion (REC) in Dallas, TX. This conference is especially geared towards college and career aged Anglicans, but anyone who wants to learn more about orthodox Anglicanism is encouraged to attend. I strongly encourage young people to attend this conference if at all possible!

www.anglicanwayinstitute.org

Two "removes" from truth...

2008-04-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

No, I am not referring my own mental outlook, but rather Plato's opinion as to why art is a waste of time and energy. Plato did not have a very high view of art generally speaking (e.g. poets and actors were to be banned from the Republic on moral grounds). But he did have a broad theory on beauty and art, and the arts did have a place - albeit a very limited one (mainly educational) - in society. To Plato, art is essentially imitative. When we paint trees, or people, we are painting a copy of a copy (hence the "two removes from truth"). If one is interested in seeking and knowing the truth, then why spend time copying copies of forms? Truth is to be known in forms. Interesting theory, but whether or not it is a waste of time to devote one's life to making copies of copies is a matter of opinion!

Aristotle's more positive view of art is right up my alley. As in most ways, Aristotle tempers and tweaks his teacher's theories. Not believing in transcendental concepts, and not seeing imitation as a bad thing, he sees art as translating into visual/written terms the universal elements in things. Imitation is natural to man, and he delights in "imitating". (Don't we all?)

Art Supplies

2008-03-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

For anyone interested, this is the place to go to buy traditional art supplies on the web. It is where I get all of my pigments, gessos, gold leaf, and more.

By the way...

2008-03-27T16:22:00.000-07:00

I am commenting on my old blog once again. It is just plain easier to comment on Anglican/theological topics on that blog and art/cultural related topics on this one.

The Old and the New

2008-03-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

Many people think that contemporary and traditional art and architecture cannot be successfully mixed. They think that a church, for example, has to be either completely contemporary (e.g. the Matisse Chapel), or completely traditional (e.g. St. Clement's). But that is really not the case. There are many prominent examples of churches that mix both styles, such as the National Cathedral, and Metz Cathedral (Metz, France). In both of these, very modern looking stained glass looks right at home in the midst of the soaring Gothic arches and beautiful carved wood. I had the great privilege of seeing the Marc Chagall windows in Metz firsthand several years back while working in Europe. They fit in with the rest of the building and its art beautifully. Therefore, before writing off the use of contemporary visual artistic forms in church, take a look around you, and see if there are not already modernistic elements in use that you are quite comfortable with and used to, and that look great in the building they are in.

Postmodern Lectionary Art

2008-03-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

The Italian bishops' conference has recently adopted a new lectionary that is new, not because the readings are different from before, but because it is illustrated using the work of contemporary artists. Some people do not like the work. There is an article about it here. A well respected art historian, Fr. Timothy Verdon, defends the new lectionary (note: he was appointed by Ratzinger several years ago to choose the images for the book), and some other guy - Pietro De Marco - attacks them. It is well worth reading.

I can appreciate any art that is done well: renaissance to postmodern. Unfortunately other people are not that way. De Marco is one of these men, and he makes a number of assumptions about modern and postmodern art that just do not, in my opinion, hold water. He thinks that "modern" artists have "abandoned their foundation in reality in favor of emotion and mere ornamentation". But baroque art is supremely emotional, and utterly fantastic and unreal in so many ways too (e.g. Il Gesu church in Rome), so it seems to me if he criticizes modern art for this, he is also criticizing his cherished baroque art. He also assumes that "reality" boils down to painting the human figure in a "photo-realistic" way, completely ignoring the illusory nature of those styles. Emotionalism and illusion in art is not bad, and different eras show them in different ways. In another place he says that in past centuries artists were guided by theologians and biblicists, but today that is not the case, and so artists paint all sorts of "errors". But even theologians and biblical scholars can certainly guide artists the wrong way... for example, when artists from the renaissance and baroque eras would paint John the Baptist and Jesus as not being around the same age. Where were the infallible biblical scholars and theologians then?

I can't comment on everything he says, but it's a good article that you should read. Basically, take everything De Marco says with a grain of salt. Anyone who has studied art history will know what I mean. The same people who cannot appreciate images like the one above probably cannot appreciate many good and beautiful things in life, such as the symphonies of Mahler and the string quartets of Shostakovich, because they are not "immediately" accessible and take some time and effort to appreciate. But patient viewing of this type of art, like patient listening to the composers above, pays back big dividends in the end.

The Manga Bible

2008-02-27T06:23:00.000-08:00

I just found about this thing called the "Manga Bible". For those of you who do not know, Manga is the Japanese word for comic book - so this is a comic book bible. It has quite a following among a certain set of people. Manga uses a type of illustration called anime, which is a very slick looking and stylized. The guy who made this bible (which use the NIV version) is an English artist/designer who is also working on a degree in theology. The bible received rave reviews from none other than ++Rowan Williams (but don't let that stop you from checking it out). They have a few different versions of the bible: a Manga Bible Raw, and a Manga Bible Extreme. Maybe they will develop a manga Book of Common Prayer next! I think this is a great idea, and while anime is not my favorite style of art by any stretch of the imagination, this is, artistically and conceptually, miles above the "Precious Moments" bibles and associated products.

Jackson Pollock

2008-02-20T09:09:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of Jackson Pollock painting and giving some commentary on his art and method. Particularly interesting is his statement that a painting has a life of its own.

Stations of the Cross - David O'Connell

2008-02-16T14:56:00.002-08:00

I have just begun work on a new series: stations of the cross in large oil paintings (more on that later). Out of curiosity, though, I did a search on the internet and found this guy - David O'Connell (1898 - 1976) - who did a very nice version of them for some English church. I have no idea how large they are, but they are quite gorgeous. The site says they are "not everyone's cup of tea". That's probably because most people know nothing about fine art (they don't even really look at it), or how to appreciate an image that is not "immediate", or visually easy to understand (i.e. art fundamentalists). Anyway, this man's work is quite compelling.

This is where the "brilliance" happens

2008-02-02T16:49:00.000-08:00

Take "brilliance" with a big grain of salt. This is my art "studio". Once I had a big studio in a creepy old factory in Baltimore City, but now that I am a civilized married man, I have been relegated to my "man space"... in this case the garage. It works okay overall, though it's taken near to two years to get used to. An artist's studio, no matter how meager, is a very personal, and sacred space. The only thing I can compare it to for the non-artist is the altar. It is a place where heaven and earth meet, and where our very bodies and souls are united with the divine.

The Christian Mind

2008-01-24T06:32:00.001-08:00

Recently I have been rereading a book we read way back in college called The Christian Mind, by Harry Blamires. Blamires was a student under C.S. Lewis at Oxford. Lately I find myself reading more books that would appeal to the minds of searching college students, but that's another story. Every Anglican, and for that matter Christian, should read this book. It is an ideal gift for a thinking college student. Written in 1963, and first published by S.P.C.K., this book is one of the best kept secrets in Anglicanism. It was, I understand, one of the Episcopal Book Club selections way back when. Obviously not enough people who became leaders in the Episcopal Church and the CofE read it.

The book says that the Church has by and large surrendered to secularism. It makes the argument that there is a secular way of thinking and a Christian way of thinking. He says that it is possible to think secularly about Christian things and secular things (which is what most people do), and that it is possible to think Christianly about secular things and Christian things (which is what Christians should do and promote). The Christian mind is marked by a number of things: its supernatural orienatation; its awareness of truth; its conception of evil; its acceptance of authority; its concern for the person; and its sacramental cast. He discusses each of these areas in detail.

Again, this is a great book, and would make an excellent parish study, or gift (especially to a college student). I am going to add it to my "recommended reading" list that I made for some parishioners. It is not hard reading, but really good and worthwhile nonetheless.

Perpetual Help & Cormac McCarthy

2008-01-07T13:07:00.001-08:00

Here is the other icon I did for Christmas. It is Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Sorry for the bad photograph... I swear it is the camera and not me. I am currently working on, you guessed it, another crucifixion. But this one is in a more western style.

One of my goals for this new year is to read more works of fiction. Reading works on theology and philosophy all the time is fun, but variety is the spice of life. Reading good works of fiction, like listening to good music and playing music, and appreciating fine art, helps make one truly well-rounded and intellectually open. So I am currently reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy, which is really good. His writing style, at least in this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, is sort of like Hemingway - short, succinct sentences, but packed with meaning. It takes place in this post-apocalyptic world (just read the description I linked to on wikipedia). I mention this novel because it makes me think of the paintings of the Norwegian artist Odd Nerdrum, who is one of the biggest artists on the international scene today. I have often looked at his art and been amazed at the bleak world it portrays. The people are cold and dirty, like animals, which is how McCarthy portrays many characters in this novel. I wouldn't say that the novel (or Nerdrum's art for that matter) is apocalyptic in the biblical sense of the word, as Daniel and Revelation, while definitely scary in some symbolic sense, do not have the element of hopelessness apparent in these works. I do recommend The Road, though, if you are looking for a really interesting, and sobering novel to read.

Thomas Kinkade: The Painter of Light

2008-01-01T11:03:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I had too many mimosa's to drink this New Year's Day, or what, but I just caught Thomas Kinkade, the kitschy "painter of light" on TBN where he was giving an interview about his art, and it kind of blew me away. For years I have had an intense loathing of this man and his work, but now I feel like I understand it it a bit better. Before I go any further, though, I have to confess that once in a while I do watch TBN just to see what's on. As it happened, I was watching the papal mass at St. Peter's and got bored with it for a minute, so I checked TBN (ahhh, isn't postmodern American TV amazing?), that's when I saw Kinkade, whom the interviewer kept referring to as a "young man" (he's not young), sitting there in a beret of all things, waxing eloquent about art. The amazing thing was that he was quite articulate, and had a very definite philosophy about his art. When asked about the relevance of painting today he spoke briefly about the sacramental nature of art, and the power of the still image. Though he didn't use the word "sacramental" that is exactly what he was saying: God communicates His grace to use through inanimate objects. He gave the example of Paul's handkerchief in Acts 19:11-12. So I was shocked. I don't care for his art, though he is indeed a good painter. I don't like his mass marketing style or commercialism either. But he obviously believes strongly in what he does and sees it as his ministry and calling, and I think he does have integrity as an artist. If you can see his interview check it out. I think it may air again.

Another Christmas Gift

2007-12-29T14:52:00.000-08:00

I am slowly getting better at doing this one. Now I just need to learn to take better pictures! These Christmas gift icons are actually smaller than I usually do them. Usually they are 9"x 12", or so. These are about half the size. There is still one more Christmas icon that I did that I need to post a picture of. Lord willing the picture will be up soon.

Happy Christmas

2007-12-21T06:25:00.000-08:00

Or should I say, "Happy Christma-hana-kwanzika"? Here are a couple of Christmas gifts I made for some people:

Growth and Decline in the Episcopal Church

2007-12-13T10:41:00.000-08:00

Is the following true of continuing Anglicanism?

"Indeed, as Church policy, in both the Church of England and the Episcopal Church since 1800 it cannot be seriously maintained that the conversion of souls from a state of being lost has held a very high priority. As a consequence, neither Church has shown much growth, and such growth that has come about has been either biological growth among members or transfer growth in terms of taking in members of other denominations. This latter is, indeed, virtually the only source of membership growth in the Episcopal Church.

The effectiveness of the Episcopal Church as an evangelistic church is insignificant because there is really no consensus among us as to the necessity for seeking to convert the unconverted. To be effective in evangelism, it is necessary to have general recognition of the vital necessity for salvation in terms of a visceral as well as an intellectual conviction such that subordinate purposes are organized around evangelism as our number one priority. The Episcopal Church is and had been ineffective because its leaders lack such a common agreement.

The effort to substitute other goals as our number one priority has only demonstrated the extent to which we have politicized our theology in the service of an alleged prophetic role. It is as though our theology has lost its vertical axis and we are only able to display horizontal Christianity. Lacking, as we do, any deeply held consensus as to mankind's eternal lostness apart from Jesus Christ, we have substituted a theology which avers that the proper role for Christianity is that of liberating man from oppressive social structures and not from sin."

"Growth and Decline in the Episcopal Church"
Rev. Wayne B. Watson, 1979

The Minister's Duty in Life and Doctrine

2007-12-03T13:11:00.001-08:00

"But to you, I say, of the clergy, these things are spoken properly; to you these powers are conveyed really; upon you God hath poured His spirit plentifully; you are the choicest of His choice, the elect of His election, a church picked out of the church, vessels of honor for your Master's use, appointed to teach others, authorized to bless in His name; you are ministers of Christ's priesthood, under-laborers in the great work of mediation and intercession, you are 'for the people towards God' (Ex 18:19), and convey answers and messages from God to the people. These things I speak, not only to magnify your office, but to enforce and heighten your duty; you are holy by office and designation; for your very appointment is a sanctification and a consecration, and therefore whatever holiness God requires of the people, who have some little portions in the priesthood evangelical, He expects it of you, and much greater, to whom He hath conveyed so great honors, and admitted so near unto Himself, and hath made to be the great ministers of His kingdom and His spirit."

Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667)
excerpt from Sermon X
The Minister's Duty in Life and Doctrine

Why hast thou forsaken me?

2007-12-01T05:57:00.000-08:00

I just recently completed this large (about 46" x 48") oil painting entitled "Why hast thou forsaken me?" I am pleased with it because it brings together a number of stylistic elements that I have been fooling with for the last few years. It combines representation with abstraction; a sense of space with flatness; and smooth glazing with rough brush strokes. The large, dark, form behind the cross signifies that moment when Our Lord uttered "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

My New favorite Phrase: Ghostly Father

2007-11-30T16:24:00.000-08:00

I was reading Martin Thornton's book "Spiritual Direction" the other day and came across the phrase "ghostly child", which is a person under spiritual (ghostly; geist) direction. That makes his spiritual director the "ghostly father". So I told my wife that I was going for my monthly meeting with my "ghostly father", and she looked at me like I'd gone mad.

St. Etheldreda

2007-11-26T10:46:00.000-08:00

Here is an icon of St. Etheldreda I recently did. It was a commission for a retired bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church. She holds a church because she restored an old church and founded an abbey (also the reason she has a pastoral staff) on the site of what is now Ely Cathedral.

One of My favorite Interviews

2007-11-21T07:17:00.000-08:00

Andy Warhol is one of the most fascinating artists of the 20th century. I highly recommend the book "The Life and Death of Andy Warhol" if anyone is interested in learning more about this highly unusual man. Here is an interesting interview with the artist himself.

Predestination Bible Study

2007-11-14T08:15:00.000-08:00

There are certain doctrines that I find more interesting to study than others. This is only natural. One doctrine that I have never been very interested in is the doctrine of predestination. My pragmatic mind just doesn't see the importance of getting too wrapped up in something as mysterious and divisive as the nature of God's divine election. But recently, due to popular demand, I lead of study of the history of this doctrine in my Tuesday morning class. I also lead a discussion on it during the Sunday School hour last week. It was amazing to see the passion that this doctrine arouses in some people. It just goes to show we are all different, and perceive some doctrines of the faith to be more important than others.

Predestination, or election, is biblical and catholic when it is understood in the ancient sense of St. Augustine and the Synod of Orange. Predestination in this sense is what is taught in the 39 Articles. The Articles, following the scriptures, ancient catholic tradition, the majority of the Reformers, and agreeing with the Council of Trent, affirm predestination to life only, as well as the free will of man. The Calvinist doctrines of Irresistible Grace and Perseverance of the Saints are not affirmed by any of these authorities. Further, as the Articles of Religion must be taken as a whole, we are bound to affirm that predestination occurs within a sacramental and ecclesiological framework. Thus, with Francis Hall and others we can say that it is the baptized who are the elect, but just because one is elect it does not follow that he or she is necessarily going to persevere till the end.

Wedding Feast at Cana

2007-11-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

This is a 2' x 2' icon I did recently that depicts the Wedding Feast at Cana. It is based on a Greek icon that I received as a gift from a friend whose wedding mass I served at a few years back.

The perfect synthesis of representational and non-objective imagery in a lot of classical/traditional Christian art is one of its most overlooked aspects. This synthesis is especially evident in iconography.

This icon is for sale for $800.

The Willow Creek Model of Church

2007-11-05T09:09:00.000-08:00

There is a fascinating book out that analyzes the effectiveness of the Willow Creek/mega-church model of Christianity that has so captivated the American Evangelical scene in the last few decades. The book is the result of an in depth study, three-year study done by WCA on whether or not the corporate, program-driven approach to ministry is effective in terms of producing mature disciples of Christ. Essentially Hybels and company admit that it has not been effective in that area. Participation in "programs" does not automatically make one into a mature believer. Hybels is to be lauded for his honest and frank assessment. I would encourage everyone to check out the links above.

As Anglicans we sometimes get discouraged because our congregations are rather small, and we take that as a sign that we are not being effective, or that something is wrong with us or our tradition. But clearly that view is not accurate. Sure, many of our congregations could use a shot in the arm in various ways, and many of us could be less lethargic in terms of outreach and evangelism. But there will always be a place in our society for the small church. In fact, I think that as the world becomes more diverse and "corporate" people will start to look for small parishes where they can get some one-on-one attention from their pastor and be connected to the church of the apostolic age. There are people that only a small congregation can reach. Further, any church that does not have apostolic faith and order is lacking a major element of the Christian religion.

I believe that our day is yet to come. Although Anglicanism is going through a rough time lately in history, I believe that God will use us in a vital way in furthering His kingdom.

A Couple of Anglican Updates

2007-10-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

Did you know that "Theological Outlines" by Francis Hall is back in print? You can get for $27 at Wipf and Stock. Theological Outlines is a quick reference/bare bones version of his 10 volume systematic theology. It's nice to have around, and who knows how long it will be back, so buy it now while you still can.

Also, a couple of really bad looking Anglican websites have been updated, and now they look pretty good: St. Alban's, Joppa, MD (my wife did that one); Reformed Episcopal Seminary; and the Anglican Catholic Church. Nothing is more important these days in terms of advertising than having a decent web presence.