Questions and Answers
It's easier for me to describe my art in the form of questions and answers. If you have comments or a question I haven't posed, click here.
Should Art be beautiful?
I believe so. I don't believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It's another quality of God. It's hard enough to create something that captures the sublime, why waste time on things that are disturbing or ugly. I heard a preacher say that God doesn't create junk. Why should I?
What motivates you to create art?
The word created is the fifth word in the Bible - In the beginning God Created. God also created us in his likeness and image. Paul says in Romans: For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. So when I create art, I exercise one of the qualities of God for the purpose of recognizing and honoring the creator of all. We create things because God created first. It's part of our nature.
What's guiding the way you make art?
How I approach art changes. It depends on what I'm interested in or exploring. Recently I've been exploring shape. Shape is part of the visible language of information. Along with texture, pattern and color, we perceive pictures according to shape. Once viewed, it's impossible to separate shape from the information it carries. It's the reason we say something looks like a dog or a fish or is "L" shaped. We're hardwired to consciously or subconsciously ascribe meaning to shapes. For example, the next time you're driving, try and not see a stop sign and the information it carries. It's impossible.
How do you start?
Most of my resources are digital. I use the internet, my photos and drawings. I have a library of thousands of patterns that I update frequently. I usually see something in a photo that interests me. Something that catches my eye and imagination. Then it's "off to the races" where I primarily use Photoshop for the prints I create. I always look for the happy accident believing that, out of discovery and experimentation, I'll find something that "looks good".