“There is room enough for a natural painter. The great vice of the present day is bravura, an attempt to do something beyond the truth.” –  John Constable

The way this quote actually read in context before shortened to accommodate today’s short attention spans is:

“There is room enough for a natural painture. The great vice of the present day is bravura, an attempt to do something beyond the truth. In endeavouring to do something better than well, they do what in reality is good for nothing. Fashion always had, & will have, its day — but truth (in all things) only will last, and can only have just claims on posterity. “

This so perfectly sums up three of the feelings that I have had govern the vast majority of my own artwork and actually my life.

First, God is the greatest artist!

I am just blessed enough to have been able to share a little bit of what He has brought into my life to see.

Second, the dismay I felt on going to a few photography and art festivals and asking more than few artists where they took a particular photograph or painted something only to find out this largely occurred in their minds.

I especially remember more than on conversation in which I asked where a specific photo was taken only to hear it was a location that I had been.  On querying as to where this particular setting was there at the location because I had literally dozens (sometimes hundreds) of photographs from there or the surrounding areas, it was admitted that they had Photoshopped in things that were not there.  More than once the conversation came to me showing them photographs of things that were there if only they had walked  a mile or two or at times 15 miles further than just beyond the parking area.

Still, I can’t deny the rebuttal was brutal and unable to be rebutted.  This semi-imaginary work of his or hers was selling like hotcakes.  I never have been great at the making money no matter what part….I think that maybe it’s too late to change that in my life.  Integrity is everything to me. Terrible habit to have, I know.  Maybe God will forgive me for that?

Third point, only truth lasts.  All other things are matters of impermanence.  Sometimes these bits of impressive untruths are fleeting.  Sometimes they are trend setting.  But in the end, it is only the integrity of truth that ultimately matters and lasts.  If I pass on no other lesson about life to my princesses than this, I will have done my duty as their daddy.  Lies may win the day.  Truth shines on forever.