I’m posting to ask whether you would be prepared to help with a Personal Development project that I am currently undertaking.

Are you accepted / understood as an artist in your church? Is your art frowned on as some “nice” but trivial past time? Are you taken seriously for using art as a communication method for the Christian faith? I have come across so many artists with such different responses - from being effectively cut off from the church, to complete acceptance. What has been your experience?

Are art and beauty synonymous from the Christian perspective? – that is the question. It is a commonly-held view amongst Christians that art has to be beautiful. Interestingly, Jon Thatcher, bassist to Delirious, said as much in his interview published in the latest edition of the Veritasse Magazine –“Art is always about creating something beautiful. I wonder if it is heretical to challenge this point of view?

Can paintings of the crucifixion ever be ‘beautiful’? They may be extraordinarily well painted with exquisite brush strokes and a perfect balance of colour and form.