Want to be a Patron?

I’ve been thinking a lot about patrons this past year.  You may know that back in the day, the Church would bankroll artists.  I imagine when Michelangelo got the Sistine Chapel gig he was feeling some pretty good job security.  He may have even splurged on a double cappuccino at the Coffee Shoppe that day.
 
We don’t live in those days anymore, and in a lot of ways, being an artist who often paints Biblical imagery is a double strike.  Strike one is that the Art World often sees “Christian Art” as lesser.  Strike Two is that The Church is often suspect of artists, and doesn’t act in that patron role anymore.  This may make a guy like me consciously or subconsciously change how I approach art – compromising vision to make sales and keep my girls in sparkly shoes.
 
Enter Crowd-funding.  As I used Kickstarter to raise the funds to create an art book based on my “40” series (the Biblical narrative in 40 images), I began to refer to my backers as patrons.  They let me see my vision through without compromise, and as a result I think I made better art.  It didn’t need to come from a huge institution or a bunch of Royals.  It came from the People.  So maybe it did come from The Church after all.
 
(Shameless plug: you can still be a Patron by going here.)