Without Excuse Creations

'I love the pencil. I can't adequately explain it, but somehow the pencil feels like "home" to me. I always return to the pencil when I reach a creative impasse in other media.

Forty years ago when I first began to draw, I was shown reproductions of the Lindisfarne Gospels, 7th/ 8th century illuminated manuscripts done by monks at the castle/monastery at Lindisfarne in northern England. When I first saw the illuminations, I was awe-struck by the astonishing intricacy of detail of this artistic labor. I remember asking myself at the time..."What, in Heaven's name, motivated these men to invest so much of themselves into this work?". The answer to that question, of course, is Faith.... Faith in and living Hope for Christ Jesus the Redeemer. For the monks at Lindisfarne, there was no greater calling than showcasing, glorifying, preserving and spreading the Good News of God's Word. Simply put, they were motivated by the Love of God.

My pencil drawings from the very beginning have been characterized by the intricacy of detail and interlocking pattern that I saw in those 7th century illuminations. I'm not sure how exactly these particular drawings of mine relate to some of my other series done in other media. I only know that there are times when I am drawn back to the pencil as to a spiritual "retreat". I have done drawings in this "mode" off and on for the past 40 years. They are visual representations of a seminal aspect of my own faith in Christ (however inadequately expressed)....a personal process of soul-searching with pencil-in-hand on The Way home. (See also the "Cross Drawings").