“The definition of Christian art is to be found in its subject and its spirit. Everything, sacred and profane, belongs to it. God does not ask for “religious” art or “Catholic” art. The art he wants for himself is Art, with all its teeth.” — Jacques Maritain

Hey there, I’m James – husband, father, artist…

So why make art? Why pursue something that doesn’t have immediate transactional value in an age when a machine can create a work identical or even better than the artist can? I make art because it reminds me that I am human. It is ennobling, and the work, the process, puts me in touch with the foundation of reality, Being itself.

When it comes to the “habit of being”, I’ve been practicing as a multimedia craftsman for the past fifteen years. I’m a bit all over the map, but I find that each different medium and discipline enlightens and informs each other. When I’m considering compositional techniques or aesthetic principles, I find that I can paint with sound, create structure in poems, and instill rhythm and order in the stroke of a brush.

An important word in my sketchbook of life is process.

For me, the documentation of process can be just as vital as the end result of a “finished” work of art. I find texture, collage, and time-lapse studies fascinating.

It’s been my desire for years to make art with others who wish to engage in the process of developing the “virtue of the practical intellect”. I find making things to be a deeply spiritual practice rooted in an existential earthiness and reaching all the way into the transcendent attic of human consciousness and divine metaphysics.

When it comes down to it though, it’s a person who makes a beautiful work of art, and there’s nothing quite like visiting an art gallery, listening to live music, or just having an inspiring conversation with someone over a cup of coffee or a Belgian Tripel. Whether it’s Hell or high water, I’m going to keep making things, and I hope you do too.

email >>> jcm1301@gmail.com