Page 8 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 5

About the artist

About the Artist:

Rick Beerhorst and his Family

I have been making art from the time I was a This way of living has been a deep walk of faith
child. My father immigrated to the United Sta- since our cash flow over the years has always
tes from the Netherlands after the war in 1948. been erratic at best. Our children have grown
His artist brother Adrian followed him a couple up in this milieu of making and selling things.
years later and moved in near by. Uncle Adrian They are used to pitching in to get the house
would come over from time to time and use us looking nice for an art collector or curator vi-
children as models for his paintings. After a few sit. The children have also learned to make their
years he packed up and moved back to Holland. own creations and sell them as well which has
This artist uncle left me with the notion that made the whole thing a family affair not unlike
making art could be a way of life. a circus family who grow up working and per-
forming together.
I ended up going to college to study architec-
ture but soon discovered making art was really My paintings are the result of a slow process of
all I wanted to do. Before long I was letting all planning, building, tearing down and building
my other college courses slide so that I could up again. I use oil paint and sable brushes to
devote as much time as possible to painting and create the images. I use razor blades and sand
drawing. Towards the end of my college expe- paper to break them down and reveal portions
rience I went with a group of 11 other students of earlier paint layers. I have often thought of
to live in a one month sublet loft in the Tribeca this building up and tearing down to run a par-
neighborhood of Manhattan New York. We vi- allel with what we are told in scripture how we
sited artists in their studios and gallery owners are to suffer with Christ if we are to be glorified
in Soho. I felt like I had died and gone to hea- with him. I think of passages like 2 Corinthi-
ven. I determined than that I did not want to be ans 4:17; For our present trouble, which is only
an artist living out life as an academic but rather for a short time, is working out for us a much
I would be an artist pressed into the market greater weight of glory. When we meet persons
place. I did not know how this was to be done who have actually lived this scripture out in
but I was determined to figure it out. their life we are struck with the beauty of their
character and presence. Similarly, a painting
made in this way becomes imbued with a rich
surface of color and texture that results in a so-
lid physical presence radiating an otherworldly
quality. By using either antique mirror frames
or hand built frames, I create a unique and dra-
matic context for each piece.

For the past 20 years I have been making my li-
ving and supporting my family entirely from my
art. This has been done selling art both through
galleries and directly to collectors. I also have
been the recipient of a number of grants that are
available to contemporary working artists.
The Beerhorst Family

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