A Family Tradition (part three)

I was born in 1954, and have wanted to be an artist since I was a very young child. I remember drawing notebook covers for friends in grade-school. My best friend and I played a game during free time in class. One would draw a doodle in a shape or form that "just happened." The other would then try to make a cartoon character from the squiggle.

I was sick a great deal as a child, and so drawing was my constant pastime. Friends played baseball, basketball and football. I drew pictures.

My family was a deeply religious family. Perhaps that is why I also wanted to be a Christian preacher. Graduating in 1973 with very poor grades, and parents that did not know what to do with me, I accepted a scholarship to York College, a small Christian college in Nebraska.

I took the two art classes offered, but the school had one teacher in art, who was actually a graduate student in architecture at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

One project was an acrylic still life from assorted items set out by the instructor. I focused on a pair of work boots, framed by a straw basket that had the bottom busted out. I am still proud of that painting done 42 years ago.

With no real pathway to a degree in art, I slipped into ministry classes. It was time to be a practical man. I left York at the end of my sophomore year for a one year internship sponsored by the church of Christ in York, to work in ministry under the supervision of a local minister. My year of internship included a summer semester at Abilene Christian University in Abilene Texas (Summer 1975). It was a life changing summer. After my years internship was over, I returned to Abilene in the fall of 1976. I had no money, and few friends. I took three part time jobs, and went to class when I could.

I met my beautiful wife Julie in 1976.

We married in November 1978.

I finally received my BS degree in in Ministry in September 1979. I was working as a full time preacher the following Sunday. I worked with congregations of the churches of Christ in Texas, Arizona, Kansas and Missouri. I loved preaching, and thought it would be my career. I found that it was just as impractical to be a preacher with a family to raise as it would have been had I trained to be a professional artist. Some men do, I did not ever find the right fit. I floated from one sales job to another, and in my off time pursued art and writing. Like my Father and my brother, I was bitten by the all-consuming need to create. Like both of them, I vacillate from landscape art to portrait art to caricatures.

Moving back to Denver in 1991, I began to rediscover my love for the state of my childhood.

I often work "on site" in charcoal and pastel. At other times I work from my own photographs in studio with watercolor, acrylic, or most often from oil paint. Here is an example of how my projects often proceed.

I was mesmerized by this stone on stone structure as a child going to Bible Camp on Longs Peak. Returning to the scene many years later I did a preliminary sketch and took several pictures. Later in my home, I did a series of charcoal sketches, working to create a pleasing layout.

This led to a final Oil painting on Board.

While writing this blog I discovered a video on Youtube of this very scene, about the same time I did the artwork.

I share these to show the progression in my family tradition. Yet the creativity does not stop here. Like my father I write poetry, and have written short stories. In college I even wrote and produced a radio play.

It is striking how the next generation continues to display this tradition of visual art and writing. Rick's oldest son, Bryan, writes and performs poetry. His second son, Jonathan, paints as a hobby. His youngest son, Jeff, writes and works in sports social media. My sister Kathy did not pursue art, but she has encouraged her husband's passion for photography and her four daughters creative interests. Melissa teaches literature in a community college in Texas. Melanie is a psychologist working with children and adults. Jennifer pursued a Bachelor Degree in Art, and does wonderfully creative work. Jocelyn has recently completed a novel, holds a master degree in literature, and paints and draws for her hobby time. My son, Christopher, is an excellent writer and works with several church planting organizations, writing blogs and assisting them with their social media. He has been instrumental in planting a church in Austin Texas. My daughter, Joy, began writing as a teen. She worked in missions in Mexico City and the Bronx. In her adult years, she has become an avid visual artist. She is an excellent photographer, and has filled her home with acrylic paintings. They are very distinctive, with bold color and free spirited creativity.

Where does creativity and a desire to help others come from? Is is a genetic trait? Is is passed from generation to generation by example and the social atmosphere of the family? Is is a bit of each? I do not know. I share this and let you think about it. Let me know what you believe.