Saturday Is For Art

Recently I was introduced to a man, who teaches art, and another class for non-artists that explores what goes into a piece of art and how the artist goes about creating a piece of art. We were brought together because he was interested in a specific group of American artists and it was thought that I may have some knowledge about this group's background. It turns out that I had a book, a novel, that my new friend was looking to read for the lecture he wanted to develop about this group of artists. He also asked me about my art work and encouraged me to think about it.

This morning I am going to post a few pieces that are titled "Mother & Child". In the 1980's, the group known as the "Religious Right" talked a lot about the United States being a Christian nation. Even though I was educated to believe that the United States, unlike European nations, had no State religion, I was troubled by the fact that there were people that felt that unless one believed in Christ, they could not be a good citizen of the United States. I thought of myself as a good citizen in that I almost always voted, I had served my country in the military and even spent one year in Korea, I paid taxes and participated in my community doing a wide range of volunteer activities. Yet, the group called the Christian Right got me thinking about how I could bring together my love for my country, while at the same time not believing in Christ. What came out of this conflict within me was my first painting "Mother & Child: An American Icon" oil on board, 1992. In this painting, I was able to bring together elements of Christianity and my love for my country, while at the same time not forgetting that my tradition did not include Christ. Over the years, I have repeated the Mother & Child theme in other paintings. This morning I am posting a few of them.