Tenacity of an Artist

I have been part of ArtPrize from the beginning, missing only a few years when I went to war in Afghanistan in 2012 and a year of recovery from my injuries in 2013. ArtPrize has inspired my lifelong dream to someday become a “successful artist” whatever that means. I have learned that a successful artist is a person who is able to experience something or someplace and share it with others in their own unique way. Like many other artists, I have spent many years creating, and entering into art shows, and trying to get into galleries, I have had some success but only by stubborn determination. Giving up has been tempting many times, but an artist must create no matter the outcome. In art school we would study the masters and sometimes try to replicate one of their creations. This has a lot to do with why I create. I believe that the evidence of God’s design is displayed in all of creation, from the wondrous shapes of a snowflake, to the myriad of colors necessary to paint the colors of humans. Studying the master creator’s work often makes me wonder how I would recreate it in a painting in a way to express the wonderment that I experienced. Being an artist helps me to have a genuine appreciation for the world around me and just being alive. 

I was fortunate enough to be accepted into a venue every year that I entered. Some entries were crazy and complicated, others leaned more on the painting skill I learned at Kendall College of Art. I have lost count of how many years I have been in ArtPrize, but I changed my entries as my artistic abilities grew. In 2020 I learned the technique of painting acrylic and oil on polished brass sheets from my cousin Amanda Clark. Over the next couple of years I mastered the technique and displayed my work outdoors at the Veteran’s Memorial Park during ArtPrize 2021, 2022, 2023. 

Painting on brass is a major endeavor and requires a lot of tenacity and risk taking. Only three months before the opening of ArtPrize 2024, the curators of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum accepted my concept of a 5’x8’ acrylic and oil on brass. This is where my lifetime of tenacity and taking risks would be put to the test as I had nothing prepared yet for ArtPrize. I knew that this was a tremendous opportunity, and I was going to give it my all for the opportunity to actually win ArtPrize.  (Continues after photo)

My objective for ArtPrize 2024 was to give the viewers of my art the “WOW” effect that the masses are looking for. I was determined that it would be created with a high degree of skill, and it had to be professionally presented with excellent craftsmanship and lighting. To make the biggest impact I went as big as possible with eight-foot sheets of brass. Mounted to a welded steel frame, the brass painting weighed in at one hundred and four pounds, which seemed to add to the wow effect. I wanted the viewers to have an emotional connection through a familiar place or experience, so I painted a stormy Grand Haven scene. The unique characteristic of a painting on brass is that the painting seems to be animated as the viewer interacts with the painting. I would often see people do a “painting dance” and they moved back and forth in front of the painting to get the animating effect of the grind marks in the brass. 

The painting “Dynamic Sunset” generates an emotional response from the viewers as they interact with a scene of beautiful chaos, realistic waves crash around the time worn structure of Grand Haven pier. The clouds move in an animated yet abstract way as the viewer interacts with the painting. Having the viewer interact with amazement is the dream of this artist and  is a culmination of a lifetime of overcoming challenges, and building on lessons learned. In Desert Storm learned how to weld, repairing vehicles damaged in the war. I used my basic welding ability to create a surface to mount the brass painting. My time as a factory worker taught me how to grind and polish metal, which I use in the process of creating the illusion of movement in the painting.  In Afghanistan my vehicle was destroyed by an improvised explosive device, because of that I was medically retired from the Army with a purple heart, which allowed me to complete my degree in painting from Kendall College of Art. These are some of the life experiences that could have derailed my drive to be an artist but in retrospect I grew from them. I hope that if someone could learn from my experience, I would encourage them to consider what they were created to do and do their best. When you get knocked down, or derailed, get back on track, you have a mission. The world needs what you have to offer.

To the artists considering ArtPrize, I would encourage you to do your best. Make sure you provide the best lighting possible, and be near to talk about your art.  So many artists just enter something for the sake of being in ArtPrize. For the tens of thousands of people who come to Grand Rapids to experience ArtPrize, you owe it to them and the future of ArtPrize to give it your best. ArtPrize is such a wonderful opportunity to be seen, to sell your art, and occasionally win a prize.