ABOUT THE ARTIST

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Mebane, NC, United States
My wife Emily and I currently live in Mebane, NC with our son Evan. I am actively accepting commissions at this time. You may request work by contacting me at artisservant@gmail.com. I currently charge $200 for 11x14 drawings and $150 for 8x10s. I sell prints of my work for $25 for 11x14 and $15 for 8x10. I hope that you will enjoy the works here displayed, and that you will contact me with your comments at artisservant@gmail.com - January 5th, 2015

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

POPE BENEDICT XVI: A BEAUTIFUL MAN OF GOD

This drawing is in honor of Pope Benedict’s Apostolic Visit to the United States this past week, and was rendered from a photo taken in St. Peter's Square by a good friend. I am very grateful to the Holy Father for his presence and his words, which, as always, were full of beauty, goodness, and hope. I was especially proud of our country and our President for so graciously receiving our Pastor. It was wonderful to see outwardly in his gentle smile the beauty of the Holy Father’s love for Christ and His People. In the past I grieved that the once Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was so maligned and misunderstood. His writing, to me, always revealed a man deeply in love with God. I remember very well the first time that I read a book he wrote named Called to Communion. It was like drinking clear, cold water, the kind that refreshes and brings you to life. A passage from that book follows, in which then Cardinal Ratzinger reflects on the tension between the Office of the Pope and the sinfulness and weakness of the men who have filled that office throughout history.

Prints of this work are available on Imagekind, and may be ordered by following the link below. Imagekind has a huge array of paper choices, and if you so choose, Imagekind will even frame the work for you according to your specifications. Large prints of my work are usually possible, up to or exceeding 16x20! Please have a look!

“If in the course of history the attribution of such authority to men could repeatedly engender the not entirely unfounded suspicion of human arrogation of power… The men in question are so glaringly, so blatantly unequal to this function that the very empowerment of man to be the rock makes evident how little it is they who sustain the Church but God alone who does so, who does so more in spite of men than through them. …When the Church adheres to these words in faith, she is not being triumphalistic but humbly recognizing in wonder and thanksgiving the victory of God over and through human weakness. Whoever deprives these words of their force for fear of triumphalism or of human usurpation of authority does not proclaim that God is greater but diminishes him, since God demonstrates the power of his love, and thus remains faithful to the law of the history of salvation, precisely in the paradox of human impotence. For with the same realism with which we declare today the sins of the popes and their disproportion to the magnitude of their commission, we must also acknowledge that Peter has repeatedly stood as the rock against ideologies, against the dissolution of the word into the plausibilities of a given time, against subjection to the powers of this world.When we see this in the facts of history, we are not celebrating men but praising the Lord, who does not abandon the Church and who desired to manifest that he is the rock through Peter, the little stumbling stone: "flesh and blood" do not save, but the Lord saves through those who are of flesh and blood. To deny this truth is not a plus of faith, not a plus of humility, but is to shrink from the humility that recognizes God as he is. Therefore the Petrine promise and its historical embodiment in Rome remain at the deepest level an ever-renewed motive for joy: the powers of hell will not prevail against it . . .”

– From Called to Communion by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
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2 comments:

  1. JeanApril 25, 2008

    Beautiful work!
    Not only is this work an example of perfected technique, but you have captured our beloved Holy Father's personality and his love for his "flock" so wonderfully!
    I love it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AmeethaJuly 02, 2008

    It's a wonderful representation of Il Papa and thanks for the excerpt as well. His writings are exceptional. Your Michael the Archangel original is also a very inspiring contemporary image. You should try to sell it to some parishes. I've been scouring the web for images of St Michael that appeal more to the modern mind as the ones from the past, whether quality art or not, just does not represent St Michael as a strong, warlike figure to the present generations.

    I would love to purchase both those images some day when I can afford them. Until then, you and you art will be in my prayers.

    ReplyDelete

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WELCOME!

I appreciate your time and your interest in my work. If you are interested in knowing more about me and my philosophy of art, please feel free to scroll to the bottom of this page. I would rather spare those who have no interest in such things from having to read about me before looking at my work. God bless you :)

The Vocation of the Artist

I firmly believe that art is meant to serve others, especially in lifting the hearts of people, through "ephiphanies of beauty," (John Paul II's letter to artists) to the contemplation and the glory of God. The artist participates in a unique way in the inspiration of the Creator of all things, and knows something of His joy in the act of creation, for "the act of creation is an act of love."(The Agony and the Ecstacy) This act is essentially bound up with the mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus, in which what had been invisible was made visible in His person, His life and work, and finally in His death and resurrection. The artist is exhorted by the very perception of his gift to its service. Art is not merely, nor should it ever be, a vehicle for selfish ends or cheap shock and awe, but it must seek to give joy to the lives of others. The artist is then in the end merely a servant of truth, beauty, and goodness, and his work must serve to convey these to a wider audience. "Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 15-16)I believe that the artist finds in the lives of Jesus, and of His foster father Joseph, essential role models, especially in their hidden life at Nazareth. Though very little is handed down to us in the Gospels or in tradition illuminating this period in Jesus' life, I believe that this hidden, simple, carpenter's life of "working quietly" (2 Thessalonians 3:11) can be a model for all artists, in which delight is daily sought in the manifestation of beauty in wood, paint, charcoal, dance, the stage, and music. This is a life of humility, where the artist freely accepts that this world, including his own work, "will pass away," (Matt. 24:35) but what it points to never will. Obedience to inspiration, especially as it is inspired by God's Word (itself the revelatory self-expression of God) is the artist's highest calling. This new site is dedicated to this higher calling of the artist, to this challenge.

You will find included in this site examples of my own work, as well as links to other sites which
celebrate the arts, and especially challenge the artist to reach the fullness of his own abilities
in the service of something greater than him or his work. I hope that you will enjoy this site, and
take full advantage of its links, especially the Letter to Artists of our Holy Father (of beloved memory) John Paul II. Thank you for your comments and your consideration of this website.

David Myers