About Religious Art

Do you love your job? I got to thinking about

that this morning and came to the realization

that I have one of the best jobs in the world. As

the owner of LordsArt.com, I have the privilege

of being exposed to the best the Christian art

world has to offer every single day. I get to

interact and work with men and women of God

who have been gifted by God with unique talents

and they use those talents to honor and glorify

my God. They receive the inspiration for their

work from the Master Artist who used the

vastness of our universe as His own canvas.

And through their inspiration I am inspired as I

am surrounded each day with images that remind

me of the grace, mercy and love that flows from

the heart of God.

In addition to the pleasure I receive from being

involved in the Christian art world, my pleasure

is doubled up because of the customers I work

with. I enjoy helping them find the piece of

Christian art that speaks directly to their heart and

as is the case in any business setting, occasionally

problems arise with their orders. I have yet to deal

with a customer who has failed to exhibit the

graciousness one would expect when dealing with

Christian brothers and sisters. I am truly blessed.

One of my favorite bible verses is Jeremiah 29:11

and it seems to speak directly to my situation. “For

Walking through our home is like walking

through the scriptures!  My wife was the first

one to buy a piece of Christian artwork and

room of our home. Christian artwork

Homage by Danny Hahlbohm is a piece of

Artist Jay Bryant Ward, a talented artist known for his

paintings of Jesus and children, was raised in Idaho Falls,

Idaho.  From a very early
age, Jay displayed a love for

drawing and was encouraged to pursue his artistic talents

by a very supportive family. 
Jay’s illustration work gained

him an Honored Student Award and three national art

awards for his paintings and illustrations, all before leaving

High School.

Jay earned a Bachelor of Fine Art with an emphasis in

illustration. He has studied under such noted artists as Leon

Parson, Robert Barrett, Richard Hull, and Don Seegmiller.

A highlight of Jay’s growth as an artist was to receive

instruction from the world-renowned painter, Richard

Schmid, at a workshop in Scottsdale, Arizona.  It was through

this mentorship that Jay developed a clearer understanding of

the artistic principles and how to use them to better

communicate through his art.

Jay now has over a decade of experience as a freelance artist

and he shares his time and his expertise by teaching both

digital and traditional art classes at a local college. He has

dedicated himself wholeheartedly to his painting career and

hopes to share an artistic magic that will warm the hearts and

uplift the souls of all who experience his work.

What is the difference between fine art and wall décor?
What some may call fine art, others may call wall decor. How do
you tell the difference?

Let’s begin by defining the standards used to determine fine art.
To begin with fine art must be PH balanced. Both the ink and the
medium used, either canvas or fine art paper, must be PH neutral
and everything, including the frame, must be acid free. Fine art
must stand the test of time by lasting a minimum of 100 to 200
years and must use the best ink, pigments and medium. Fine art
should be the best the industry can offer. Just because a piece is
being sold as fine art doesn’t necessarily mean it passes the fine
art standard so beware.

There are three grades of fine art. As the names suggest a Gallery
grade is suitable for display in a gallery or museum, a Collector
grade is suitable for the collectible market and an Investment
grade needs to increase in value over time. If the work doesn’t
meet fine art standards then it is simply wall décor. Wall décor
can range from absolute junk up to art that doesn’t quite meet
fine art standards and can include both paper and canvas
reproductions.

Art reproductions can be produced either on fine art paper or on
canvas and by using either offset reproduction or digital reproduction.
The advantage of digital reproductions is that the artist or publisher
can produce additional prints on an as needed basis. The artist or
publisher can also digitally alter the size of the finished product
creating size options for the market.

There are three types of canvas reproductions used in today’s art
market. The first is a canvas transfer process. This method is
outdated and doesn’t work very well but is still being offered as fine
art. However, in my opinion a canvas transfer should never be sold
as fine art. The second process is the Iris print. The Iris print is a
very high maintenance process and prints directly to the medium
with a 4 to 6 color inkjet printer developed by Iris Graphics in the
late 1970’s. The third method uses a more advanced inkjets printer
that spray directly on the medium using 8 to 12 colors achieving
incredible detail. These modern inkjet printers are very low
maintenance and suffer very little degradation in the printing
process compared to the Iris print process. Iris press and inkjets
reproductions are called giclees (zhee-klays), a French term meaning
“spray or spurt of ink”.

There are some other terms that you need to be aware of. Limited
Editions come in two types; either by the number of prints produced
or by the amount of time the prints are offered. A small number of
limited edition art pieces doesn’t necessarily mean it will go up in
value but the goal of any true artist is to product art that will go up
in value. As the name suggests Signed reproductions must be signed
specifically by the artist. Signed & Numbered reproductions are
Limited Editions that have been signed and which also denotes its
place in the print run; ie 7 of 1000. Proofs are usually prints where
something is not quite right with the print, usually as a result of a
degradation of the print process. Degradation is more pronounced
in the Canvas transfer and Irish press processes. For this reason, in
a run of 10,000 the last print will look noticeably different than the
first print. The newer inkjet giclees have very little degradation.
Artist proofs differ in that the artist arbitrarily pulls out a number of
prints. The artist would then sign those pieces and sell them for a
higher price. Today the artist will pull the first 20 to 25 pieces to use
as artist proofs.

When displaying your piece of art there are two things to remember
based on the type of art being purchased. Number one is that fine
art paper prints should always be glassed and should be matted with
the matte going between the paper and glass. Secondly, canvas prints
should never be glassed. Either an acid free liner must be used or it
needs to be backed with an acid free ph neutral paper. And finally,
there are two types of framing choices for your piece of art. The first
type are those mechanically made in bulk. It is inexpensive and
v-nailed but not glued. The second type is custom made by hand,
v-nailed and glued with no light showing at corners. UV is the enemy
of ink. All light will degrade all art to a degree so care should be made
in deciding where to display the piece.

If you have additional questions concerning fine art versus wall decor,
contact www.LordsArt.com.

Commissioned by the Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas Tx, The Resurrection Mural by internationally renowned artist Ron DiCianni is a masterpiece of epic proportions, measuring 12’ x 40’. It is the pinnacle of Mr. DiCianni’s incredible career and depicts the defining moment that sets Christianity apart from every other religion in the world; Christ’s declaration of victory over the grave.

To quote Mr. DiCianni, “It seems that over the centuries every artist longed to paint a definitive scene that would stand the test of time. For Michelangelo, it was the “Creation of Adam” which he did for the Sistine Chapel. For Rembrandt, it was the scene of “The Prodigal Son.”

For me, it is “The Resurrection”, as this one act of history separates Christianity from every other religion, philosophy and dogma. It authenticates The Nativity, The Crucifixion of Christ, and legitimizes every word Jesus said concerning Himself and His relationship to God. Many may ignore the Resurrection at their peril, but none can deny it as it is historically proven beyond doubt. My hope is that as this mural is installed, many will be confronted with the scene of “The Resurrection” and make the decision that He is worthy of being called their Lord and Savior.” End Quote.

The cast of notables include the angels, the Roman soldiers and the “Great Cloud of Witnesses” described in the book of Hebrews. These include Moses, Isaiah, David and Abraham to the right of Jesus and Elijah, Noah, Ester, John the Baptist and Daniel to the left. Those posing for the mural includes other notable Christian artists including Michael Dudash, Morgan Weistling, Thomas Blackshear and Chris Hopkins. In the upper right hand corner of the mural is the place of Jesus crucifixion, Golgatha, the place of the skull.