Art & Story

One thing that is very important to me as an artist is “story.” I want to create art that tells a story in some way. This does not always involve figures, though it sometimes does. Even in a landscape with an empty field, one has to remember that we wouldn’t have the scene without the “seer,” the one responsible for seeing and rendering the landscape. We ask questions like, “Why is this setting so important to the artist? What is there to see? Why should I value it the same way he or she does?”

When you look at our social media, you can see a “6” attached to our email and handles. Why the “6”? Because I am a husband and a dad. there are six of us. And all six of us make Argo Art work. We are all “creatives.” Every member of our family inspires the artwork I put out, as well as creates their own, in some way, either through music, story, acting, craft, design, or speech. You name it. There’s beauty all around this business and it comes out of six people, not just one (and not to mention a beautiful community of friends and family in which we find ourselves placed). I say all that to give a shout out to my oldest daughter, the amazing artist who gave me this digital artwork (pictured with this post) for the last Father’s Day. She drew me and our four children as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cartoon characters. It was one of the coolest gifts I’ve ever been given.

I plan to write a bit more about this concept of “art that tells a story” from my experience with the Jazz Art Writers South (JAWS) festival last year. However, let me reiterate by saying that, with what I create, I am not just an individual telling his own personal story. My artwork is part of the story of me, my immediate family, my extended family, my faith, my ancestors, my place on earth. Then my own story connects with the stories of many others who commission and collect artwork that tells or connects with their stories. It’s a profound responsibility and privilege. May God help me steward it well and tell the stories faithfully.