I enjoy collecting quotes on art and living. Be inspired today:

“If I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint.” ~ Edward Hopper

“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it.” ~ Danny Kaye

“Out of suffering comes creativity. You cannot spell painting without pain.” ~ John Lithgow

“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” Pablo Picasso

“Nobody is bored when he is trying to make something that is beautiful, or to discover something that is true.” ~ William Inge

“An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision.” ~ James McNeill Whistler

“The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.” ~ Michelangelo

“What is art but a way of seeing?” ~ Thomas Berger

Melody Green, wife of the late Keith Green, makes a valid point. Read this excerpt and see what you think:

“The Church as a whole has kept a very tight, if often unspoken reign on its artists. We’ve drawn narrow and creatively limiting lines, hoping to keep our artists from compromising the truth. Because of this, many artists feel that to be accepted as true believers, all they paint, write, sing, produce, etc., must have an overt Christian message. Movies need an altar call, songs and books must talk about God, and artwork needs a scripture somewhere. But God does not call every artist to minister so directly.”
~ Melody Green, Direct Contact: Seasoning the Media Arts

Entire article is posted here.

How has God called *you* to minister?

The January issue is up! So much good stuff: practical, informative, inspiring, and FUN: Carnival of Christian Writers

Thanks to my friend who forwarded this interesting article:
The Plight of the Christian Artist.

In this piece we peek inside the heart of Vincent Van Gogh and learn why so many artists in the church today are, indeed, frustrated. Be sure to read the entire article. Here’s an excerpt:

“As tragic as contemporary Christianity’s effort to cultivate artistic talent is, there is an additional tragedy with long-term implications. To be blunt, the Church has sold its artistic soul for a shallow brew of overly spiritualized sentimentality.”

“Where the Church used to compose concertos, she now throws together ditties with three chords. Great art has been relegated to musty museums and replaced by commercialized “Jesus junk.” And literature exploring the great mysteries of man’s relationship to creation and Creator has been supplanted by trivial testimonies about how you can follow Jesus and become a millionaire at the same time.”
~ Denny Gunderson, The Plight of the Christian Artist

AEM Artist Forums are local gatherings of artists and creative professionals in Los Angeles, California. These forums include lectures and discussions on the practical application of a Christian worldview to art, music and all forms of film & media. Through these monthly gatherings AEM serves the local Los Angeles/Hollywood community by encouraging, praying and discussing relevant issues artists face in their creative process, their professional careers and their spiritual life.

“These meetings are open to those who are able to travel to Los Angeles and who take their art and their walk with their Creator seriously.”

Resource:
Artist Forums

A new source has come my way. Check it out for yourself:
Arts & Entertainment Ministries

“Arts & Entertainment Ministries (AEM) equips and educates artists, creative professionals, churches and educators to embrace the gospel and become agents of redemption for the arts, the culture and the world.”

AEM is sought after by professors, teachers and pastors to deliver lectures and provide resources that equip them for training Christians to embrace their faith as they begin to engage the culture around them. Christ did not die for us to retreat from culture, nor to sit on the sidelines as we condemn it, but to be a redemptive force within culture (John 3:17) as we become living metaphors of salt and light (Matt 5:13-16).

“That the arts can be corrupt does not mean that Christians should abandon them. On the contrary, the corruption of the arts means that Christians dare not abandon them any longer.” ~ Gene Edward Veith, author of State of the Arts

“While it’s healthy to critique and assess the trends and dangers within our culture, we need to do more. We need to create the new stories, movies, and anthems that inspire and shape culture in America and—because entertainment is one of our major exports—the rest of the world….

When will Christians assume the role of culture shapers, instead of mere reactionaries? Why do we hesitate—are we afraid? Don’t we realize the scope of the problem and the opportunities God is giving us? What biblical passages can equip us for such a task?” ~ Joel Pelsue, byFaith Magazine, The Call to Create Culture

“A good story can change the way we think, the way we live and love and make our way through this world.” ~ Bret Lott

A book review from Albert Mohler’s reading list:

Bret Lott, a Charleston-based author of best-selling novels, has edited a wonderful collection of Christian fiction in Eyes to See [Thomas Nelson]. Lott has chosen stories from masters such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, and Flannery O’Connor — joined by eleven other writers whose stories will make the Christian think and reflect . . . and enjoy reading.

This kind of anthology is a good way to introduce these stories and these authors to readers who may never have dared open The Brothers Karamazov or War and Peace. Lott offers brief introductions to the authors (I wish the introductions were a bit more extensive) and has chosen well for Eyes to See.

“The test of literature is, I suppose, whether we ourselves live more intensely for the reading of it.” ~ Elizabeth Drew

“What we become depends on what we read after all the professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is the collection of books.”
~ Thomas Carlyle

“It does not matter how many books you have, but how good the books are which you have.” ~ Seneca

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” ~ C.S. Lewis