As a white male raised in a Pennsylvania 'steel city,' I have observed and experienced much that has influenced my perspective. Being a son of a Prison Chaplain, I am no stranger to the many burdens and concerns that I saw in my own neighborhood growing up. The black community was a very real part of my experience. I have seen and heard much that effected my neighbors and the growing national tension that manifested itself in ignorance and racism. What I saw with my eyes effected my heart.
Martin Luther King Jr., a man who had a dream... a dream that would one day blossom into a reality. The path that he chose in life was not a easy path. It was not one that many accepted or liked. But, he stayed the course. He did not give up... Why not? Because he had a God given dream. 'That one day his children would live in a nation where they would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.' He walked in faith, hope and love. He refused to obey what he regarded as an immoral law that did not square with the law of God. Writing from a jail cell, King declared that the code of justice is not man's law: It is God's law. Imagine a politician saying that today! Happy birthday Dr. Martin Luther King! I thank God for you and the blessing of my experiences as a child that effected my heart to this day.
In my senior year in art school I focused all subject matter on the social concerns of what I saw in my own community. More than a appreciation for art, I wanted to communicate the hope, the struggle and the glory of a people that I love and a culture that God allowed me to experience. Here are a few early paintings...although poor, and early in my artistic ability, the content shows forth my perspective at the time.
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