Preface to Eden – Part 1
So much of my life as an artist has been about the simple act of seeing clearly. Even though a painting is an illusion of something real at first glance, it’s really a representation of something that is itself not permanent or “real” but a temporary incomplete image of the eternal, the “really real”.
The things that are real and permanent are not yet seen. It is my belief and the message of my work that people were made for paradise. The best that we can hope to see now is something that is a representation or a clue of what’s to come. What we see with our eyes in those moments when we encounter the beautiful and true are to eternity something like paint on a canvas is to what we normally consider reality. A representation but only a partial one. It is in that sense that art can become a signpost of a reality that is currently beyond our very limited sight.
By and by as I learn to observe and reflect as any good artist must I see that many things are not as they appear to be at first glance. Truth is often shrouded in mystery, other times it’s so clear we dismiss it as too simple and try and find a more clever, complicated answer. Pride in the human intellect leads to some disastrous consequences.
I think everyone wants to find life to the full. At least that is my hope. It would seem by the evidence that sometimes that isn’t the case or perhaps many are looking where there isn’t life, which begs the question, What is real life and where is it to be found? If there’s a price for it what does it cost? Were we made for eternity or will we just die and decompose?
I’m going to be bold and say that I think I’ve found the answer, or more properly someone else showed it to me. I didn’t see it at first preferring to do things my own way and see if I might lift myself up by my own bootstraps. It’s an unfortunate fact that modern man believes he can control his own destiny and somehow perfect himself. History is replete with stories of artists who have driven themselves insane looking for a universal truth within themselves and apart from God.
Glimpses of what’s to come are by God’s grace there to be seen from time to time if we are looking for them and have the eyes to see them.
To experience Michael’s art for yourself, or to order prints, call Peter Orsati in Bend, Oregon at 541-306-1174.
