Artist statement
My work in this exhibit deals with boundaries and brokenness.
I am interested in things that symbolize the limits of human ability because they focus the heart on the hope of restoration. Boundaries remind us of this. Sometimes we feel restricted and trapped by barriers. Other times limits seem to protect us more than they restrict us.
The Creator of our human existence restores what is broken and opens what has been closed by sin. Those things that symbolize the weakness of this life at the same time assure us of Messiah's strength and love.
Some of the paintings have pen drawings superimposed on them. They are like visions of what is to come. In faith we see the closed door being opened, the boarded up window letting in light, the barred prison window now opened to new life, the bricked in East gate of Jerusalem becoming wide open to receive the returning Messiah.
Artist statement
Our eyes, our faces, say so much about who we are, what we’re feeling. I’ve always been drawn to portraiture because it is more than an exploration of form and light, it is an exploration into the essence of the subject, into their life, their story. Every face has a message, something to share with everyone who sees it. The reason I love portraiture is that I get the opportunity to not only study many subjects, but use the emotion of the pieces to convey my own message and tell the viewers what I’m learning and what I want to share with them.
The Psalm 84 series is inspired by the life journey expressed in Psalm 84. The special thing about Psalm 84 is the comfort it brings. The writer doesn’t deny that God’s people go through suffering, but he says that they don’t get lost in it. He says that, as they pass through the Valley of Baca, a place of deep sorrow and suffering, they make it a place of springs. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. God’s people press on, from strength to strength, holding tightly to their hope, and as they pass through the Valley of Baca, their lives, their stories, their faces, give glory to God, and make it a place of springs.
The Longing and The Life series is a meditation on worship. During the development of the series I was studying God’s instructions for our worship, and the emotions involved in worshipping God. Several phrases from some of my favorite songs and psalms kept coming to mind.
“Where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom. Lift your eyes to heaven, there is freedom.”
“When the Spirit of the LORD comes upon my heart, I will dance like David danced.”
“I will lift up my hands in the sanctuary.”
I was also moved by the longing God has put in His people for true worship, and how much He wants us to live worship, to live for His glory. When I start to live the longing, live my worship, it becomes the story behind my eyes, and the message in my face.