Fellowship of Christians in Portraiture

Kirk Richards studied with Richard Lack at Atelier Lack in Minneapolis after receiving his BFA and MA degrees from West Texas State University. In 1982 he founded Atelier Richards and taught there until 1988. He paints Biblical works, still lifes, and portraits.

He was one of twenty-four artists to be certified by the American Portrait Society and has painted many of Amarillo's noted citizens, including James Setapen, conductor of the Amarillo Symphony; Dr. James Rauscher, chairman of the music departmentat Amarillo College; Sister Olivia Prendergast, founder of Saint Anthony's Hospice; operatic soprano Mary Jane Johnson; and the late Metropolitan Opera tenor, Timothy Jenkins.

Richards is a member of The American Society of Classical Realism Guild of Artists. His work has won several awards and he has exhibited in many major exhibitions throughout the country.

Richards is a contributing author to Realism in Revolution: The Art of the Boston School, and he wrote "From the Academy to the Pueblo," published in the Classical Realism Journal. Richards was profiled in the June-July 1991 issue of International Fine Art Collector. His workappeared in The Best of Flower Painting and The Best of Portrait Painting published by North Light Books.

kirkrichards@cox.net

For Glory and For Beauty: Practical Perspectives on Christianity and the Visual Arts
by Kirk Richards and Stephen Gjertson. Softcover, 8½ x 11 inches, 174 pages, numerous illustrations in color. $29.95 plus $4.00 shipping and handling. Minnesota residents add $2.09 state sales tax.
Send check or
money order to
3855 Colfax Ave. N.
Minneapolis, MN 55412
payable to Stephen Gjertson

Personal Testimonies by Fellowship Members

Keeping an Eternal Perspective
by Kirk Richards

Pandora - by Kirk Richards
Oil on canvas, 28 x 22 inches

The Blue Door - by Kirk Richards
Oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches

was raised in a Christian home. I don't remember a time in my life when I hadn't heard the stories of Jesus. My parents prepared me for life, not by instilling their own work habits or insisting on any particular professional direction, but by directing my path toward the One who gives eternal life.

My parents were very practical people from a part of the Texas panhandle where art was not considered a practical endeavor. My dad was a lawyer and could have helped me in almost any other career choice. When at an early age I began to show a keen interest in painting and drawing, and when later it became apparent that art was to be my career, I remember him saying, "I don't know anything about art. I can't help you in any practical way. But I can tell you that the Lord can handle an art career as well as He can handle anything else. Remember Proverbs 3:1, 5: 'My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments... trust in the Lord with all your heart; and do not lean on your own understanding.'"

As it turned out, this solid foundation was critical during the years of college and my four years at Atelier Lack in Minneapolis. During this time my faith was challenged by representatives of what the apostle Paul called, "another gospel, which is really not another." I was beset by members of two different cultic organizations, who proclaimed themselves to be Christian and who used the Bible as their source. However, their scholarship and use of the Scripture was errant at best and deceitful at worst. To me they were simply confusing. I was not prepared to answer their arguments from the Scriptures, but I knew that what they were saying was wrong. I now see this time as a "crisis" period that Christians commonly experience; a time of testing when we are confronted with the question, "Why do you believe what you believe?" It was this challenge and frustration that led me to study the Bible, to "be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth." ( 2 Timothy 2:15) For 25 years now, I have been studying God's word, and have been trying (obviously not always successfully) to live a life that is pleasing to God. Since 1982 or '83, I have been teaching an adult Bible study class in my church's Sunday School.

How does this relate to my painting? Christians must submit their artwork to God, just as we are exhorted to submit our entire lives to Him. There is no dichotomy for the Christian, no separation between an artist's spiritual life and artistic life. We are created in the image of God, are completely redeemed by God, and are exhorted to express our love for God in everything we do.

"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
1 Corinthians 10:31.

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." Colossians 3:17,23.

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things." Philippians 4:8

I believe that while God calls each person to work hard and be a faithful steward of the gifts He has given, ultimately God is interested in our hearts, not the works of our hands. I work hard to be the best artist I can possibly be, but at the same time I try to keep an eternal perspective of my work and my life. My art is not my god. I try to use my art to glorify the One True God.

Kirk Richards
Amarillo, Texas
November 2003

To read a chapter from the book, click here.