Here is a drawing I did of St. Junipero Serra! Its based on an image from Wikipedia as shown here:

 

Image Source

I wanted to draw it for several reasons, firstly because it was one of the statues torn down by the black lives matter movement last year sometime and I like the idea of trying at least in some small way to replace and even build on what was lost. 

And second it gave me an opportunity to practice my crosshatching which is great because a lot of the stories that continue to inspire me, like the Narnia books and Alice in Wonderland incorporate a lot of hatching and crosshatching in their illustrations.

And thirdly I really like the idea of drawing Catholic saints and religious art in general because I’m a Catholic and because there’s so much in it that’s beautiful.

So yeah, that’s three birds with one stone!  I always like having multiple reasons for working on the same artwork especially since I usually end up spending a lot of time on whatever it is I’m working on.

Vandalism Is Bad For Art

Its still bad!  I mentioned back in August 2017 when the black live matter looters were vandalizing statues and monuments and that was on the news that I thought vandalism was bad for art, and I still do.

The fact that so many people who I thought would know better are supporting murder, terrorism and wholesale destruction to this extent under the flimsy pretext of somehow combating racism, (which it doesn’t) displays a level of air headedness that I would hardly have believed possible.

Take Uncle Hugo’s Bookstore in Minneapolis as an example:

Here are some reasons why burning down a bookstore might be bad for art and creativity:

1, Its burning books!  Books are known to contain lots of art and creative writing.  Also there were a lot of irreplaceable 1st edition books as well as autographed copies some of them by authors who are no longer with us.

2, You just set fire to a bookstore!  Bookstores are places where people can look through and buy books, making all that creativity and art available to the public.

3. Its hard to have a booksigning in a burned out building!  Bookstores commonly have social events such as booksignings which are fun for members of the community.

4. Now the authors and illustrators can’t sell their books their anymore, which means they can’t get paid!  Which is bad for authors and illustrators.

5. Its just bad for everyone!  Burning down a bookstore puts people out of work and is just all around bad for the economy which is also bad for authors and artists.

So if you’re feeling bad about supporting arson and terrorism (and being a tremendous air head), here’s a chance to support the owner and his efforts to rebuild it:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/let-us-help-save-uncle-hugo039s?viewupdates=1&rcid=r01-159106110191-60120bbd3a4a430d&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_email%2B1137-update-supporters-v5b

Its probably better than bailing out criminals, and social justice posturing!

This is an art blog, not a political blog so I wouldn’t even talk about this except that it is relevant to art, writing, and creativity in general.

It might not seem like a big deal right now if they haven’t burned down anything you care about, but you or your loved ones could be next, because terrorism is like that.