The announcement of the new C.S. Lewis College, and a story

Some few years ago, I was contacted by a company with which I was not yet familiar.

Being a Californian born and raised, I had never heard of Hobby Lobby. For those of you who don't know (and at the time I looked them up), Hobby Lobby is the 3rd largest arts and crafts chain in the United States (behind Michael's and Joanne's). They have no stores or presence, however, in CA.

Hobby Lobby was founded by an individual named David Green. His mother, Marie Green was a 1920's revival preacher.

Hobby Lobby is a store that supports different charities. One of these charities is called "The Book of Hope", which is a world evangelism organization. When the Book of Hope organization needed a new facility, Hobby Lobby stepped in, purchased a vacant building in Florida, and renovated it to become the new facility for this group. They decided to dedicate the building to Marie Green, David's mother... a fitting dedication for an evangelistic outreach.

I was contacted in 2004 by Hobby Lobby to execute a "Legacy Commission" for the Lobby of the new Book of Hope* facility. the resulting painting, pictured above, is called "The Evangelist".

After this painting, I was contacted by the CS Lewis Foundation, and discussions began about having me do some work for their upcoming conference in Oxford and Cambridge, England. What resulted from this encounter with the Foundation was my very next painting: "C.S. Lewis, the Spirit and the Man".

This painting was completed in 2005, in June, about a month before this conference ("Oxbridge" 2005). When one of the scheduled speakers became ill, I was asked to come to Oxford to make a presentation on my painting. The resulting trip was an eye opening experience for me. The attendees were scholars, university faculty, clergy and other interested parties. I was honored and not a little bit humbled to find that the list of mainstage presenters was varied and famous: among them Chuck Colson, Richard Foster, Dana Gioia (acclaimed poet, and Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts), and Rick Warren.

Frankly, my ignorance served me well on this trip... I made a 15 minute presentation on the second day I was there, before I really knew who else was coming onstage after me... If I had known I would have been too nervous to even walk up on stage!

To be among the faculty, staff and participants was something I will never forget and look forward to attending again.

The C.S. Lewis foundation began in 1972, and among their many goals, two were to a) purchase, renovate and pay off the home of C.S. Lewis in "The Kilns", Oxford, England. The other was to find a suitable facility to begin the dream of founder J. Stanley Mattson... "The C.S. Lewis College".

I had not seen Stan Mattson for some years. I was pleasantly surprised, when I was in California last September, to be invited to the home of a friend for dinner which he was attending. After dinner, Stan told us he had some exciting news.. that they had a probable benefactor for the C.S. Lewis College, but couldn't reveal any more information until the planning was finalized.

I was speechless about a month later, when the email came announcing the news:
That vision is now about to become a reality as plans move forward to launch C.S. Lewis College on the beautiful campus in Northfield, Massachusetts, recently acquired for this purpose from Northfield Mount Hermon School. This property has been purchased for the use of C.S. Lewis College by Hobby Lobby, a privately held retail chain of arts and crafts stores based in Oklahoma City, OK.

Talk about a small world. I am pleased to announce that the original painting, "C.S. Lewis, The Spirit and the Man", will hang at the new college. I feel blessed to be a part of this whole chain of events...


Notes:

*"The Book of Hope" organization is now called "One Hope"

* After my presentation at "Oxbridge", I was asked by many of the attendees for a copy. I have made that presentation available here.

New Book! Art Journey: New Mexico 2009

I am grateful and not a little humbled to have had my painting "Forever" included in the new book, "Art Journey: New Mexico" 2009.

Though I was contacted and asked to participate earlier this year, the significance of this book did not really register in my mind. As often happens with things like this, the publishers let me know which painting they had chosen, did an interview with me about the painting, and then I sent the images and kinda forgot about it.

When the package arrived today containing this magnificent book I was stunned. There are 104 artists included from New Mexico, a state which boasts the second or third largest art-market in the nation (depending on the year). By rough estimate, there are just under 5,000 artists who are listed in the collectors guide alone... to be included in this 2% is mind boggling. These artists are world class, professional painters that I am honored and not a little bit humbled with whom to share the pages of this large coffee table keepsake.

Below, the interview* published about "Forever" is reproduced:

An interview for the book “Art Journey: New Mexico”, ©2009 by the editors of the Collectors Guide

RANDALL M. HASSON

Randall M. Hasson has a rather eye-catching way with words. While he holds no official degrees in art, he is formally trained in the calligraphic arts, and his beautifully crafted words have worked their way very prominently into his paintings. "Most of my complex paintings have a significant amount of text;' says Hasson, who typically takes two or three months to finish each large canvas panel. The artist, who has a home in Santa Fe, did briefly study illustration in college. He builds as many as twelve or more layers of acrylic paint in sections, then does the lettering with whatever tool will best accomplish the intended style: broad-edged nibs, brushes, bamboo and reed pens, even pens fashioned from aluminum cans. "Sometimes I have a quote and the painting evolves around that,” Hasson says, "Sometimes the image comes first and the
concepts come from the image."

What inspired this painting?
I had used cut gemstones as images in a previous painting ... the act of painting them intrigued me, and I began to explore their form and meaning.

What prep work and painting techniques went into it?
Because I integrate lettering into my work, I use readily available acrylic inks and therefore paint in acrylic as well. I use various mediums and glazes to achieve either the finish or depth/transparency I desire for the subject I am painting. In this particular painting, the gems themselves are painted in multiple glazes and are finished with a glossy varnish layer while the rest of the surface remains matte. I researched the gemstones themselves-their meaning from a metaphysical, biblical and traditional view, which included such things as the healing properties and also which gems (such as lapis) were used as pigments, and what gemstones where significant biblically. While many times I do have compositions in mind, in this case the painting started with one gem and evolved from there.

How does it relate to your other paintings?
My works, because most of them contain text, are usually topical or themed. I call them "contemplative" because they are not meant to provide answers, but to stimulate thought and questions. I almost always use symbolism and allegory in the images I select. This particular painting deals with a great or significant subject: faith, mystery, spirituality, afterlife, and so on. The subject matter dictated not only a dynamic composition, but also dynamic movement and color.

What does this painting mean to you?
It is about the mystery of eternity. It is an asked question without a defined answer. There is a presupposition here on the part of the artist: the concept that there actually is a Higher Being, or God. For a traditional Western Christian or Jew, there is a concept of Heaven. But no matter who you are or what you believe, the only thing that is sure is that it won't be exactly how you think it will be. We simply don't know. In the two faiths mentioned above, there is a "Throne" or a "New Jerusalem" described in the Bible. The gems mentioned in those descriptions are in this painting ... but so are many others. Many artists have tried to paint or portray the actual "throne" or the New Jerusalem. I have not because I don't believe any representation by a human can be accurate. That is why the "street paved in gold" disappears over the hill. It begs the questions: Is there a God? What does He look like? Where does He dwell? What does that place look like? Is it active or peaceful? Stagnant or bustling with creativity? And so begins the conversation.

* For a .PDF version of this interview, click here

to Purchase an advance copy of "Art Journey", click here