On the subject of Trees

In searching out the tree species and method of capturing a tree's essence I found this article.


Middle Fork - MadArt from John Grade on Vimeo.

Tile project mounted and ready to hang.

January 2015

Over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend our APU MFA program will re-convene and have a 3 day critique session. I am currently preparing everything to hang and then, preparing all of it to get packed into my car for the trip to Azusa.

On the way I will be traveling with my dear friend Bill Van Vlear who has spent the last two weeks building a walk-in shower for us. I will be taking him, his tools and my artwork to his house first, then on to APU to check into my place for the weekend. 20th Century Motor Lodge.

On the left here is just one of the pieces I will be displaying in Darling Hall for the arranged one-on-one critiques.

Exterior Box Concept

This is an attempt to put the construction and engineering on the exterior of the piece and the “design” and aesthetics on the interior. I wanted a vehicle that made sense to me, so by putting the reversal into this cube helped me to visualize what the construction could become without being too contrived.

Larger Rhombus Canvas

Rhombus experiments with some stretched canvas and surface treatments.

This shows the vertical alignment on a toned wall
so you are able to see the white-on-white.

here it is in the studio to see scale.
it's approx. 60" tall.

Dimensional Panel Tests

Some thoughts regarding an introduction to an additional illusion with the panels. Here I have a foam core board maquette that could be built with either panel or stretched canvas.

This process can give the added experience of moving around a piece for a new view to the artwork. I have been thinking of how I can address the discussion of making my work more dimensional, or even 3D in some instances. This is a step in that direction. I see this opportunity to make paintings that move into a person's space and allows one to create new compositions based upon your vantage point to the artwork.

Each photo represented here is of the same construct, but from different angles. This gives us a surprisingly different perspective on the viewer's experience. I can even see very traditional painting taking on a different feel with this. The question of why I am doing this is not clear yet. I feel like this step is merely an approach at moving the artwork towards the viewer.

Surrounding Circumstances

evidence of the hand of God in creation, with surrounding circumstances

Recently finding some more writings of Mako I keep getting inspired with the concept of our responsibility to cultivate culture — all the while we are immersed in a world that works against our vision  of eternity.

Makoto Fujimura:

“To me, to paint is to practice the “Presence of God” in the process of creating. Whether I have a market for my work is secondary to the practice of the “art of seeing” that is fundamental to my being. I urge you to do the same: whether your "art" be painting, writing, theatre, dance, music-or being a first responder, or a nurse, or an engineer-develop your “inner eye” and create with faith.”

I am a fan of Mako's position in the art world. He is able to influence our generation of artists who's work has been informed by a Christian world view. With Mako's reputation he is able to navigate both worlds of contemporary art and faith. He has gained the respect of critics, galleries and publishers and he uses that influence to stand for truth.