Artist Glen Gray takes a spiritual and mathematical journey
Glen Gray sees hope and promise everywhere and tries to tell a story through his work. “Blessings can come from unexpected places, people, or situations,” he says. “Life is full of them if we but open our eyes to see them.”
Gray’s journey started in Texas, where Christian theology was his calling, even though early on he doodled on whatever he could find. “My mom used to keep all my little scribbles, even though I didn’t take it seriously at the time,” he remembers.
It wasn’t until he lived in New Zealand during his ministry work that he decided to take classes. Watercolor, oil and acrylic training helped Gray capture what he saw there.
“I used to sit in banquets and while listening to the speaker, I would sketch whatever came to my mind,” explains. “I would draw ships and pirates and such things. It would help me focus. People would then come up to me after and ask me if they could have my drawings, which I gave away.”
It was that interest from others early on that gave Gray the confidence to continue. “One guy actually mounted the drawings I did and he displays them as stills in his house,” he Gray.
His travels soon took him to Africa, where he made sure he took advantage of the continent’s rich wildlife. “I used to love to go to the reserve and take pictures of the various animals; elephants, rhinos and zebras,” he says. “We used to watch the elephants cross the road so we drove up and parked.”
One aggressive male elephant decided the group was too close and charged the car. “He stopped right before he hit us,” chuckles Gray. “He ended up just kicking some rocks at us, although the ranger said he could have hit us.”
Gray channeled this experience into at least two of his painting. “Elephant Tub” conveys the encounter accurately, as you come almost face-to-face as the viewer. “Power in Red” may make some SEC football fans squirm for a different reason. “I did that painting for all the Alabama Crimson Tide fans,” laughs Gray.
A large influence on his art comes from the Italian mathematician Fibonacci, who in the late 11th and early 12th centuries was credited with bringing the Arabic numeral system to Europe and introducing the use of the number zero and the decimal place.
His name is today remembered for the Fibonacci Sequence; an integer sequence whereby each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 (and so on).
Although it may not seem obvious, there is a strong connection between this mathematical sequence and the composition of artwork. By visualizing each number as a square (increasing in size, in the same way as the sequence) and connecting the opposite corners of each square, you can create the Fibonacci Spiral.
“This is one of the techniques I use to teach my students,” says Gray. “They look at the canvas and see nothing but white and they don’t know where to begin.”
Once his students master the technique, he encourages them to start developing and projecting their ideas visually. “It’s a balanced method where the formula pulls the viewer’s eye around the painting, in an almost counterclockwise motion.”
His work can be described as realistic and explores techniques like distance through paint, perspective elements, reflections and suggestive elements that fool the eye. Wildlife, landscapes, still life and iconic animals tend to grace his canvases.
I just finished a painting of a man coming out of a vineyard,” says Gray. The man’s face expresses an almost grateful sense of joy for the bountiful harvest he has in his arms.
“My idea for this particular piece came from Proverbs 3:9-10, ‘Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine’.”
Gray has painted several bald eagles and even makes a minor political statement with his latest work. “It’s an eagle with a tear in its eye,” he explains. “The background is a quilt sown back together after being torn apart. Even though we want unity, the eagle knows we’re not unified.”
Over the years, Gray has collected more than 12,000 photographs and countless images from books and magazines to paint. No telling how many paintings he has completed.
“The difference between a good painter and a bad painter is the good painter will only show you his best work,” he advises. “But you can learn something from every artist. You can even learn by their mistakes.”