A little bit of a review so you can get the full picture of my current painting project. 

      I am an artist working on a project called the “Art of Living”. I am writing to you because I am looking for young people who might be willing to assist me with this project.

What is the Art of Living project?

      The Art of Living is a series of paintings that portray faith in everyday activities. After reading a quote by Gordon B. Hinckley “…our lives should be the reflection of our faith, the symbol of our worship”, I thought a lot about what every day faith looks like and embarked on a journey of exploration.

      As I looked pondered about this idea of our lives reflecting our faith, I began to focus on the idea that we are children of God all the time, not just on Sundays or in our callings. Everything that we do, from feeding the kids to repairing an engine to reading a book or playing sports, reflects the faith we hold inside. 

      After making a good start in the Art of Living series, I felt inspired to start a sub-series that focuses on the youth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The youth need to know that they matter. I decided to paint a triptych, or a single painting spread over three canvases, for each group, starting with ordained Deacons (ages 11-13) followed by the young women of the same age. This pattern then follows the older groups of ordained Teachers and Priests with the young women of the respective age groups. I am currently working on the second of the canvases portraying Deacons. This project will encompass 156 total youth spread across 18 canvases. Because children of God are found all over the world, we would like to represent youth of all shapes, sizes, colors, backgrounds, etc. 

How does it work?

      Because I need so many participants, I am unable to pull all of the youth from my own circle of acquaintances. I typically reach out to people I know, or to people who have expressed interest and ask them if they know of any youth who might be interested and whose parents would be supportive. Parents are important and I will always work through them for any scheduling, permissions, or photographs.

      Once a parent shows interest in having their child be a part of these paintings, the first step is to set up a meeting with the youth and his/her parent(s). The purpose of this interview is to meet the youth, explain the project, and answer any questions. This initial visit helps me get to know the youth and his or her interests, which will help me know how to best portray them. Depending on how the interview goes, I might be able to do a quick photo shoot right then and be done or if the time isn’t right, I will set up an appointment to do the photo shoot on another day and time that works better for both the parents and the youth. 

How can you help?

      As I mentioned, I am looking for a total of 156 youth spanning across all shapes, sizes, colors, backgrounds, etc. If you would be willing to let your ward members know about the Art of Living project or know of any youth who could benefit from being a part of this project, please encourage their parents to reach out, or with permission, pass along the parents’ contact information for me to contact them.

My Story

Sunday March 31, 2019, I suffered a bilateral pulmonary embolism on my walk to church. While lying in the road, I was given a choice. I could remain lying down and die or I could sit up and live. While contemplating my options, I felt impressed by the question, If I were to die, would I have any regrets?

The first regret that came to mind was that I had just started a painting, then there was the important message I needed to pass on to the Elder’s Quorum president, and what about my wife? She may have been third on my list, but first in my heart. The next question for me was, If I could paint anything, what would I most want to paint? Although I have painted many things over the years, I have always wanted to paint people and their stories, but what I didn’t know was which people and which stories.

An Answer

One day I read a quote from Gordon B. Hinckley: “The lives of our people must become the most meaningful expression of our faith and, in fact, therefore, the symbol of our worship.”  This statement caused me to rethink the way I choose what to paint. Instead of focusing on those who were well known, such as prophets or prominent leaders, I wanted to focus on the normal people, those who are often overlooked because they seem so ordinary.

Hinckley’s statement also gave me guidance regarding which stories to focus on, namely, those everyday events that make up the “lives of our people” which “become the most meaningful expression of our faith”. I wanted to help people see that they are already demonstrating their faith in every aspect of their lives, and that they need neither titles nor prestige to be important to God. Some people may already know their own worth in God’s eyes. Other people struggle silently to know that they belong. It is my hope that by viewing other people like them, those silent strugglers will know they do belong, and they are loved. The “Art of Living” project was born.

The Project

The “Art of Living” project is an open-ended series of paintings that portray normal people going about their daily activities as “an expression of their faith and … a symbol of their worship”. At first, I started by portraying people in their daily work, but when a young man in my neighborhood was struggling with severe depression, I knew that this project was more than just the work we do, the “Art of Living” project grew into who we are. I wanted to focus on the faith people demonstrate in every aspect of their daily lives, from feeding families to making repairs, composing music to going on a date with someone special.

As I lay in the street reflecting on my own life, I could have easily given up and died. Because I chose to live, this “Art of Living” project came to be. Just as these paintings reflect the expressions of the faith of those portrayed in them, painting these stories is the expression of my faith, the symbol of my worship. This series shows what it means to live according to our faith; it is the art of living.

Jeff Brimley, Artist