Reverence

Reverence is an attitude by which one responds to reality as a whole. It is more than the typical religious gestalt of revering a religious ideology, saintly being, or holy relic. Reverence goes way beyond that. It is a sacred emotion that flows through our existence as spiritual beings. In this way of thinking and seeing, Reverence is the appropriate term to define an artist’s visual memes to produce a work of art.  Philosopher Alice Von Hildebrand considered Reverence, the “mother of all virtues.”

In Reverence, one sees all things in life as beautiful. I believe that this is where my desire to paint unusual and out-of-ordinary subjects manifests itself; on a deeper level than just seeing the ugliness and the mundane. I am constantly asked about the subject matter I paint. I think about the question, and in my mind, I say, ‘why not?

When I see a typical trash bin on the street, I see a story, a purpose for its existence. Painting a historical location much older than I have been alive is awe-inspiring. The ubiquitous burger, the fearless rodeo cowboy, the baseball player, the heroic soldier, the construction worker, and the ever-present road crew all should be revered for what they represent.

Gold leaf is the color of extravagance, wealth, riches, and excess which exerts a hypnotic attraction and evokes a very celestial, reverent feeling toward the serenity of the subject.

I was inspired to utilize gold leaf after seeing the biopic film, Klimt. In the movie, Klimt (John Malkovich) is working on the “Adele Bloch-Bauer” portrait, and in the scene, he was applying gold leaf to the painting. Later while visiting the Timken Museum in Balboa Park, I viewed the collection of Russian Icons on wood panels.  The reverence and visceral experience I felt from the luminance of these traditional Icon works inspired me to recreate this feeling in my work.   As I continue to develop gilding techniques, I often refer back to these works for inspiration.  In the art world, gilding techniques are considered merely decorative art.

The painters of nature all revere the world through their work. I feel this honor also can be in a typical still life of simple objects that mean something and holds a place of reverence. It has been said that we must abandon arrogance and stand in awe.  In the Reverence exhibition, I explore the things I hold in awe, experiences I have had, and visions from an artist’s mind. What do you hold in Reverence?