Reuel Arts

Pierce Stone Falls - This painting evolved from a fascination with Jesus' talk of living water which, when drunk, becomes an inner spring "welling up into eternal life". A fellow painter and good friend Bryn Hovde's love for the surrealists influenced the style. The figure of Christ is hidden in the rocks, living water pouring from his hand as the quizical onlooker stares. The mountains are hands praying.

Dawn Drenched - This piece also gains strength from space, light and simplicity: it's just a few scribbled lines, some bleeding pigment and time for drying and then another layer. The ship is loosely based on a recreation of one of Columbus' ships. The subject is dawn, new beginnings, the bulging womb of potential and hope. The sobering reality is that any explorer in any realm can as easily bring destruction as blessing (and in most cases it's a mixture of the two). This is particularly pertainent to us USAmericans whose strengths include innovation, exploration, ingenuity, and courage -- and whose weaknesses include an arrogant disregard of tradition, wisdom, and history. Those who are proud, powerful and in love with what's new can do much damage. Those who are willing to be misunderstood to find truth, beauty and purpose in new and unexpected places can bring much healing and blessing -- even to those who at first misunderstood them.

Inbreaking - In this experimental watercolor was done in an attitude of prayer and contemplation. I worked and reworked the paper for hours and hours and a bird with bowed head emerged in the midst of the piercing, bloody, lazer beams of color, heat, pain and coming joy. This crown of thorns surrounding a sky creature is an image of voluntary, redemptive suffering.

Voile Eye - This is another piece painted mostly between midnight and dawn. It began as an unwinding exercise after a long day of administrative work (which exhausts me like few things do). I had no plan when I began and the work evolved slowly. Different people see different things in it. Most people see a city, an eye, a reflection and lights which are either an explosion or fireworks. I am still discovering the piece myself, but the thoughts most clearly stirred concern violence, pain, loss, mourning, forgiveness, recovery, bitterness, and hate in the heart of a post-911 United States of America.