When I was younger and new at my craft I would dream of being acclaimed and hanging in famous museums. But as the years have rolled on my hopes and dreams have changed. Where I once viewed museums as the ultimate expressions of accredited success I no longer hold to that old vision. Today, being closer to the end rather than to the beginning, I see things much more differently than I did in my youth. What I now hold valuable has no monetary value and frankly can't even be grasped within my hands. It's value lies within the spiritual realm. It can't be bought or sold and sometimes it can't even be expressed in words. It's ethereal, extremely delicate and celestial. It has no foundation in this material world. Quite frankly, my mere words fail me when I try to explain it. But when I paint it explodes forth on to the canvas with prodigious bright colors illuminating my most sacred thoughts. I have been blessed by my Creator to create. What a wonderful gift I have been given. A gift that I have been able to share with many churches and even monasteries. My art does not hang in any prestigious museums. No, not one museum has my art. But I don't care, I have been blessed even more because my art hangs in the many houses of my God. What a wonderful gift my God has given to me, the gift of art. And my gift back to the Creator is the very same art that I paint and is hung in His houses of worship. A very favorite Trappist monk friend of mine once said to me "to color, to brighten and to flourish", and that is exactly what I intend to do always. visionary imagist "Joey"