faith

Same Sun

My oldest daughter was born in Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Chester, PA. Those hallowed grounds were once occupied by the Crozer Theological Seminary attended by such notables as J. Pious Barber, Samuel Dewitt Proctor and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. These were giants of men, men of faith I hold in high regard. I often walked these grounds where they walked in honor, remembrance, and reflection.

We had relocated to Pennsylvania on faith in what I do as an artist to start a new life. We named our daughter Imani, which means faith with Arabic and Swahili origins in East Africa, as a testament to that move. This year Imani returned from Alaska, another faith move – there and back. At the morning of this writing, she is on a beach in Maryland, as I am in one of my favorite places on the planet, Chicago. We exchanged sunrise images. The one thing constant in them both is the glow of the morning sun. Faith is the knowing that the sun will always rise. No matter how dark the night or tumultuous the storm, that golden orb ascends to the heavens as a metaphoric reminder. A reminder that we can always begin again, and that success came before us on the same planet that we walk. Sometimes even the same ground that we walk over. Remembering and thinking on things like this can help to put things in perspective as we go about the tasks involved in doing what we do.

Think of your most revered luminary. In this case allow it to be someone that you admire in your field of choice. Someone who has made accomplishments in the area of which you aspire to succeed. See them in action in your mind going about their tasks from the mundane to the magnificent. Above them every day is the same sun that shines down on you. The setting of your story has the same lighting as theirs. The warmth, the light, the brilliance — all of it bathed their path just as it bathes yours. The same source of energy that sustained their journey is sustaining you now, fueling your own rise, your own breakthroughs.

It’s easy to look at those who’ve gone before us and imagine that they had some secret, some hidden resource, but the truth is they moved forward in the same rhythm of faith, resilience, and consistency. Like the sun, they showed up, even on cloudy days when success seemed distant. And just like the sun, their brilliance was a reflection of what already existed inside them.

Faith, like the light of the sun, is a force we often take for granted, yet it’s always with us. Just as we trust that the sun will rise each morning, we must trust that our own light, our own success, will also emerge — even when it’s not immediately visible. Even on those days when we whisper in quiet desperation,”What the hell am I doing?”

Imani, faith, is not just the name of my daughter; it’s the principle that guides the journey. It’s in the small actions, the steady discipline, and the unwavering belief that, just like the sun, the time will come to rise higher. No storm, no night, can prevent the dawning of your potential. So as we stand on this shared ground, beneath this shared sun, know that you’re already on the path — step by step, light by light, day by day, moment by moment — to becoming the luminary that will shine for the generations to come.

Stepping out on faith as an artist is like moving through life with a paintbrush in hand and a large blank canvas looming in front of you, trusting that your next stroke will reveal something desired. I don’t limited faith to a shadowy belief in the unseen—it’s a commitment to your purpose, even when the path ahead seems unclear. Napoleon Hill defines faith as…

“Definiteness of purpose backed by a belief in the attainment of the object of that purpose.”

You can replace the word definiteness of purpose with intention for more clarity. For those of us who choose non-traditional careers, like being an artist of any kind, faith is essential. It’s the long arm of assurance pointing the way. It keeps you grounded to an eternal source, especially when external validation is scarce. Living in faith fuels your perseverance to create in ways that challenge the status quo.

Faith in art making is necessary because it’s a bridge between the inner vision and outer manifestation. When I chose to walk this road as a artist, with preparation from my parent’s kitchen table spread over with comic books and pencils to Alabama A&M University to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, it was a leap into unchartered waters. But in that leap, I found a new kind of freedom. A freedom that flowed over into all arenas of living.

I was always being questioned as to whether being an artist was a real career. Could I actually make a living doing this? I’ve been blessed to travel many roads and pathways not only making a living but truly living. For me, art making isn’t just about creating objects and images—it’s about rolling passionately in the sheets with life and birthing stories, preserving histories, and connecting with the world on a deeper level. Faith gives you the courage to share those stories, even when the world might not understand them right away.

On the tailgate of a truck I had was the mantra, “Life is art, Art is life.” Life, like art, requires faith in your vision and your process. Mind the vehicle that is taking you through this life. Trusting yourself enough to take a non-standard path or do something that has been reaching out to you for the longest, is a bold act of creativity in itself. It’s saying, “I am enough, and I trust that my unique journey will lead to the fulfillment of my purpose.” In art and life, faith is the G-force (in this case, God Force) that helps you move forward, not because you fully know the outcome, but because you truly believe the journey is worth it.

Beyond HERe, acrylic on canvas 84″ x 44″

Believe…

The other day in a very intense conversation I was having, the person stopped mid sentence and said these words to me, ” I saw your body language change. Remember, if your brain doesn’t believe it, nothing’s going to happen.” At that precise moment my mind glitched then morphed into an ultra clear movie projector. Everything else we had just talked about, everything I’d attempted in the past, everything I was thinking about became strikingly clear. I literally saw a light come on. Belief is an all empowering ingredient to any level of accomplishment, whether it be the completion of a sketch, a full drawing, or a sold out show at Laxart Gallery.

Napoleon Hill told us ““Whatever Your Mind Can Conceive and Believe, It Can Achieve.” It CAN achieve. In an effective scenario, the body is servant to the mind. So when your brain believes, it not only kicks the body into gear but activates the spirit which summons all manner of assistance to bring the intent to pass. Belief moves providence to move on your behalf. Belief goes beyond hoping. True belief is laced with intent which revs up the to a superhuman level of operation. The accomplishments are often followed by comments like Wow! How did you do that? I wish I could do that! That is amazing! These exclamations are the brain’s way of saying this is actually possible in a question and a definitive statement. Think about it. We all have so many reminders of this. One that comes to mind at the moment is the photo of Gabrielle Union and Zoe Saldana standing in front of one of my paintings on a movie set.

Belief is so powerful, it’s never limited to the mind in which it is activated. It’s like a fire. The more you stoke it the warmer everything around it gets. Martin Luther’s beliefs reformed the church. Albert Einstein’s beliefs shifted understanding, relatively. Martin Luther King’s belief motivated and mobilized a nation. Hitler’s belief nearly destroyed one. The power of belief is there for us to utilize as we will. That instance when you first believe will create a paradigm shift in your story. The moment when you can exclaim this changes everything, everything can change.

Post Cards From Rabbit Lane

In the spirit of gratitude, I write with a renewed sense of purpose. At this juncture of Juneteenth, the summer solstice, and my bEARTHday, I feel both the warmth of a new sun and the lull of evening’s tide. For this southern born artist, life is a color palette spread out on all sides. Although I am not immune to the rage of life’s realities, I live with the joy that the hues never fade. At least not for long.

I am often asked, as artist, who was my early inspiration to live as a creative. I can never cite a person from the onset. Before any character emerged from the plethora of paintslingers and wordsmiths, there was Mother Nature with her omnipresent bowl of colors, shapes, forms, and values set in a space of splendor that transcended time and drew no lines. She was my first, my present and my always. She nurtured my childhood curiosity causing crawdads to dart backwards and hummingbirds to hover in midair. The colors of the rainbow set ablaze on the sun-kissed backs of fish, the wings of Japanese beetles, and dewdrop misted morning leaves. She showed me all her colors and called me home to myself. I would sit in stillness soaking up her fragrance between whispers of wind and bird and frog symphonies. All that I do, in all of my effort is but a shadow of the her divine masterpiece.

Some time ago, I began to capture sunsets and rises on my phone. On long days, heading home I would debrief through golden wheat fields, oceans of soybeans, and corn that seemed to stand up in paise. Upon my arrival, the evening sun would wash the front lawn in a warm glow. I made a conscious decision that I would one day share those photos. Beauty, like love, should not be kept to oneself. The title came simple and immediate. Postcards From Rabbit Lane. They are not only visual notes about what I’ve seen, they are messages about what we can be, and how we can be, in this vast nature painted landscape. We get to choose our role and how we manipulate the elements to create what we will. At one point, I did not realize we had been entrusted with such power. Nature got my attention in more than one of her seductive ways and reminded me who I am, and whose I am. In all that I am, my goal is to honor my full purpose here on the planet. In that I find a peace that passes understanding. The divine lens puts everything in perspective. That makes for a pretty good picture.

An Answer of Faith

I was recently questioned regarding the target audience for my writing. To be honest I hadn’t thought of it that specifically when I started. I knew I wanted to get things out of my head and on paper. That I want to inspire others to seize their baton and run with it. To be their highest and best version of who they want to be. Then it slowly came into view. This blog is for those who already know or sense that there is something more potent to be done or somewhere greater they are going and may need a little boost to walk their walk. It’s really a sacred journey whose pathway only the pathfinder or path maker can navigate. It is specifically for those who dare…

Keep pressing forward in word and deed. What do you believe? Your answer will be the basis of faith in word. How you believe is the bedrock of faith in deeds and actions. Faith can ride upon the wheels of any religion, denomination, dogma, or no organized sect at all. The manifestation of a thing is based on the faith (belief) of the believer. In the Bible when Jesus is quoted as saying Your faith has saved and healed you, he spoke directly to belief rooted in intention, not the religious bent of the one in need of healing. The healing had less to do with their religion of choice and everything to do with the conviction of their heart for the thing they desired. Religious inclination is what it is, but the actions that proceed from faith with intent is what will grant us the life we say we desire and consequently touch the world with our legacy.