The Bishop of Barking, who is himself an artist, recently dedicated a series of twelve glass screens in our neighbouring parish of All Saints Goodmayes. These are etchings depicting scenes from the life of Christ designed by local artist Henry Shelton. They include a Madonna and Child, the young Jesus learning his trade as a carpenter and the baptism of Christ. The etchings have won a Diocesan Advisory Committee award for design. Following a conversation with Bishop David about Shelton's work, we have recently arranged to meet up.
After a successful career as a commercial product designer, Shelton's time is now exclusively set aside for his religious paintings. Though as he explains, "it's not easy to make a living as a Christian artist," his dedication to his craft is evidence of a real desire to express his beliefs through his God given talent.
Speaking of his inspiration to paint, he says:
"People often ask me what inspires me to paint a picture. Well, there are many reasons of course and I guess it doesn’t pay to analyse them too closely. I only know that when I stand facing a blank canvass I do hope to find inspiration from somewhere. Usually an idea will come to me when I least expect it and long before I can actually begin painting. All creative people will agree that a good idea can come to you anywhere, any time. But I like to think there may be a little “Divine Intervention” in what I do as my ideas are certainly intended to witness our Christian faith and depict images that will touch us all to the very core of our beliefs."
Examples of Shelton's work can be found at: Epping Studio Galleries Fine Art Ltd. A Church Times article on Shelton's work can be found here.
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Arnold Schoenberg - Moses und Aron.
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