“The Offering” by Richard Bledsoe

The creation of a painting acts as a model of the examined life. What do you see when you look inside? To look at what many contemporary artists offer, you would think they are chock full of lifeless echoes of vapid mass media offerings, vague recyclings of other artists’ ideas, and technical formulas. I don’t believe such limited offerings really reach who they are, and bring it out for the world to see. They’re falling short of the ultimate destination, self knowledge shared as a communion with their fellow humanity. It’s a scary place to head for, and the current mentality of the art establishment discourages it. Exploring the state of the soul is impolite; it doesn’t always look hip and savvy, and is just too raw and genuine for those who hide behind a pseudo-sophisticated façade-and façade is what the elites are all about…