Fine Arts articles on aesthetics and beauty, Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, with JPEG & PDF scans and prints for Fine Arts articles #003Q.
Dallas Skyline Oil Painting At Dusk By Stephen F. Condren
Education
As a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Northern Illinois University in Fine Art, I write with authority on the subject of Art. Further, I have a Masters of Educational Administration which makes ever so germane the adequacy of Art in modern Education.
Globalization
The understanding of Fine Art is essential in grasping a cogent understanding of the peoples of the World today and our current globalization of both economies and cultures.
Condren Galleries Ltd.
Condren Galleries Ltd., is a Fine Arts Gallery specializing in landscapes, portraiture, skylines, architectural renderings, figure drawings, and paintings. The focus of my work has been in pen & ink drawings and watercolors.
Pen & Inks
Pen & inks have been a long time favorite for me as I very much enjoy working shade and shadows with cross hatching ink lines. However, I have a strong background in oil painting which is clearly reflected in my landscape oils.
RuPaul #527Z, gay celebrity pen & ink drawing with pencil sketch, by artist, and Veteran, Stephen F. Condren, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, with gay LGBTQ approved prints, and scans. Prints & Scans Of This Drawing #527Z ~ Order Here.
What more can be said than this is RuPau, because he is the defacto gay celebrity of today. No one person of the Gay Community stands out more than Rupaul, because he is recognized world wide. RuPaul is most noted for being a female impersonator, because he is able to play the role with expertise.
Pencil Drawing
Below is my preliminary pencil sketch of RuPaul for the final inking, because I use the sketch as a guide. The pencil is a careful delineation for RuPaul’s face and shoulders, because they are nicely developed. RuPaul has a well balance head & shoulder composition, because his head is proportionate to his shoulders. The size of his head is also very well proportioned to his shoulders, because it firmly rests there. I have made a point to simply delineate the face of RuPaul, because I did not want to make it too busy with hatched lines.
RuPaul pencil drawing by artist Stephen F. Condren.
Prints & Scans
Prints & Scans Of This Drawing #527Z ~ Order Here.
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RuPaul #527Z, gay celebrity pen & ink drawing with pencil, offering prints & scans, by artist Stephen F. Condren of Condren Galleries, with gay LGBTQ approved prints, and scans.
Artist Stephen F. Condren Of Condren Galleries For RuPaul #527Z
Faith is a game of dominos #519Z, a case for the mythology of religious belief systems. A pen & ink portrait of Jesus with pencil sketch, by artist, and Veteran, Stephen F. Condren, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery. Prints & Scans Of This Portrait #519Z ~ Order Here.
A Case For The Mythology Of Religious Belief Systems
Faith in any religion is ultimately based on your belief in the actions of fellow believers, because you watch, and look up to them. It is impossible at all levels to believe in something that you do not know, because we are empirical beings. We look, watch, and test everything around us every day, all day long, because we are looking for security.
Church Members
When people attend church, they look around to see if the key members are there, and if they are in good decorum, because they are “Spiritual role models” of “our faith”. We take comfort in knowing that John and Jane Doe are here, showing that they also believe, because this gives you comfort in your doubts which continuously haunt you. Then you look at the next, the next, and finally the next, like a game of dominos, missing the point, because faith ultimately rests in you. Because you are the determinant of what is acceptable, and what is not. You are the one that judges to see if John, and Jane Doe are “Keeping the faith”, and showing “Steadfastness”. This faith is authored by you.
Theologians
Worst of all, is the unthinking task of reading the works of Theologians, because you think that they have the answers. Not one Theologian of any denomination or other Religion has any answers at all, because they are only providing you with opinions. I speak with authority because I am an Alumni of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, in Deerfield, Illinois.
Swindlers
At best Theologians are swindlers, because they want you to think that they know, when in fact they do not, and all at your expense. They love to bury their work in Existentialism, and Post-structuralism, to masquerade the truth that they really do not know. When you keep pressing them to their point, they melt like the Wicked Witch of the West, because the honest questions that you ask are like the clean water on the witch, exposing the fact that they really offer nothing, and simply are washed away.
If you want to read anything sober, please read Michel Foucault, because he is at least honest and brilliant, a breath of fresh air. I have serious reservations about Paul Tillich. Father David Tracy is quite scholarly, and earnest, however he offers no solutions. I have read his books, Blessed Rage For Order, Analogical Imagination, and Plurality And Ambiguity, which are his three most noted works, because they address Theology in a current context. I have issues with his concept of “Limit Language”, and I was totally disappointed with his conclusion of Plurality And Ambiguity. Theologian Martin Marty is duplicitous from the get go. I put down his book “The Public Church”. As a member of the Arts Club of Chicago, I would see him often there, as well as the Fortnightly Club.
Each Theologian comes to you with his baggage, or perspective, because he has his own agenda that he is trying to work out. If you know a mans agenda, you knew everything, because a man’s agenda bespeaks what he is about. Below is my perspective, the architectural rendering of the Loeb Mansion in Kenwood, Chicago.
As you can see from my architectural rendering below, I am a man of extreme precision, and exactitude, and I do not fool around. The same holds true for me in all things, because I am clear headed, exceedingly precise in my reasoning skills. I do not, and will not accept staggering amount of ethereal Philosophical jargon that modern Theology is infested with, because it offers nothing but smoke, and mirrors. Give to me something of substance, rationale, and I will listen, otherwise I wash my hands of it. I demand accuracy, and precision, and will accept nothing less.
One Theologian that I have to bring out is William Lane Craig, because all of his writings are worthless dribble. More repulsive than his books, especially “Reasonable Faith”, are his obnoxious, and arrogant manners. I one heard him “debate” with the brilliant Theologian, Gerd Ludemann. Dr. Ludemann was correct in all of his point, but the rude, and pontificating William Lane Craig, just kept on talking, not listening, or grasping anything of what Dr. Ludemann was saying, because he does not possess the intelligence to grasp it.
The bottom line is that you can only have the faith that you choose to dispense, because the struggle with the search of finding the truth is ethereal. Therefore, do not look to others in your church or congregation, but look to yourself, because you are the house of faith. Faith is mythological, and you are the High Priest, because you, and you along are the only one that really knows, for it is all a priori. So, in the future, look to yourself, and not others, because you hold the real answers.
Pencil drawing of Jesus Christ wearing a stephanos, or crown of thorns, by artist Stephen F. Condren.
Pen & Ink Drawing Of Faith Is A Game Of Dominos
Pen & Ink Drawings With Prints & Scans
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Faith is a game of dominos. A pen & ink portrait of Jesus with prints & scans, by artist Stephen F. Condren, of Condren Galleries.
Jesus a cloud in modern minds #518Z, Christ, a case for Jesus as myth. A pen & ink portrait with pencil sketch, by artist, and Veteran, Stephen F. Condren, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery. Prints & Scans Of This Portrait #518Z ~ Order Here.
The last thing that you should ever do to understand Jesus is to read the Bible, because it is utterly remote to modern times. I am not trying to tear down the Bible, because that is not my message. The Bible is the Bible, and that is the end of it, because it really has no message to offer modern minds. The modern mind is totally infuse with Equal Right, EEOC, Women’s Issue, and LBGTQ persona. None of which are bad or good, because they all are real and thrive right now.
Modern Mindset
My case is for the modern mindset, because we are alive now. To read any ancient document is utterly foolish without serious scholarly research, because these documents are not written with the modern mindset. Slavery was not only ok, it was sought after, because times where hard. Throwing a female baby in the river was fine, because it was not a boy. Watching “losers” fight wild beasts, and get tortured with flames as sport was entertainment, because that was the mindset of ancient times.
Now, to even try and attempt to make sense of writings done at this time is almost impossible for today. Certainly none of it is “Politically Correct”, because our modern minds cannot operate outside of these codes. So to read documents like the Gospels, and Pauline Epistles offers nothing but distortion to modern readers, because we cannot fathom the mindset of antiquity. Antiquity was harsh, because times were harsh! The glorious Parthenon, and Roman Colosseum were wrought with the hands of slaves in chains.
Pen & Ink Drawing Of Jesus a cloud in modern minds #518Z
All the images of Jesus that are provided to us are completely soaked in ancient mindset values. Further, there are many layers, and sub-layers of consciousness in those times that are not clearly audible in our own time. The offering of miracles, and healings are just the tip of the iceberg. When it comes to understanding ancient literature, there are many other layers of values that need to be assessed to understand these documents.
Put The Bible Asside
Therefore, put the Bible down, and just let go, because it is out of context for today. The same holds true for all ancient religious documents, because they are out of our times. Jesus is a myth, because He was a figure of hope for people hopelessly lost in very dark times. The message of this Jesus gave these people hope to make it through their days, because they lived in the dark. The entire story of Jesus is pure Hollywood, refined flower if you will, because no true story in real life falls together with such tact.
Today we can embrace the message of Jesus, because there is much good in it. However, the best way to understand His message is by understanding our times, here and now. For when we have our house in order, we can help others with their house.
I swim for life #515Z, self-portrait photo, and pen & ink drawing with pencil contour lines, by artist, and Veteran, Stephen F. Condren, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery. Prints & Scans Available.
I grew up in the Jackson Park Highlands, of South Shore, because it was near Lake Michigan. As a child I first leaned to swim at the South Shore Country Club, in South Shore, Chicago, because our family were members of the club. The club had a beautiful beach, because it was on the shores of Lake Michigan. Here is where I first learned to swim. When I started Grammar School, dad had us take swimming lessons at the Chicago Athletic Association in downtown Chicago, on Michigan Avenue, because dad was a member.
Pedigree
The Condren’s
My grandfather was Dr. Francis Leo Condren, a successful dentist with offices in the Pittsfield Building, in downtown Chicago. My father, James Corwin Condren, was an attorney, and owned Favor Ruhl & Watson art supply company at 10 S. Wabash Avenue, in downtown Chicago. Dad also owned the entire Silversmith’s Building at 10 S. Wabash, which housed Favor Ruhl.
The Dunn’s
My grandfather was Philip John Dunn, owner of the Dunn Coal & Oil Company, in Chicago. Beulah Clark was my grandmother, and she was a model, and beauty queen, because she was Miss Chicago in 1920. They lived in the duplex-penthouse, overlooking Lake Michigan, on Stratford & Lake Shore Drive, in Lakeview, Chicago, where my mother Beulah Mae Dunn grew up. Mom attended, and graduated from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish on Belmont. My parents were married in Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church.
Self-portrait of artist Stephen F. Condren, in pen & ink.
Chicago Athletic Association Junior Members
Saturday Schedule
At 9:00 AM, on Saturday mornings, we junior members would be at the pool and were given private swimming lessons, because we were there to learn how to swim. After the swimming lessons we then went up to the gym to exercise, then at 11:30 AM we went to the main dining room for lunch. The Main Dining Room was very grand because it overlooked Grant Park on Michigan Avenue. The club has since become a hotel call the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, because it is housed in the club’s building.
Pencil Rendering For
Below is a pen & ink drawing that I did of myself at LA Fitness, because I was working out. I swim a non-stop mile every day, because I want to live a long, and healthy life. At the end of each lap I do a somersault, and flip over resuming my swim, because it keeps my momentum going. No exercise is better for you than swimming, because it expands your lungs, and gives you more air. Your heart, brain, and lungs get more oxygen, and thus are more healthy.
Sex, Drugs, Liquor, Smoking
I have never had an STI, nor will I have any, because I do not sex-up. Drugs mean nothing to me, and I have never done drugs in my life, nor will I ever, because they are repulsive to me. I do not drink, because I am allergic to alcohol. I have never smoked in my life, because my mother warned me about smoking.
Because I Swim Everyday
I am fit, and trim, because I swim everyday. When ever I have a cut, scratch, or injury it heals quickly, because I swim every day. I run, and move quickly all day long, because I swim everyday. All day long I am never short of breath, because I swim everyday. I sleep well at night, because I swim everyday. During the day I am never tired, because I swim everyday. I always have energy, because I swim everyday.
LA Fitness
Now that I live in Lake County, Illinois, I have joined LA Fitness, because it is located in Round Lake Beach, IL. I have been a member for over two years here, and it is the greatest place to be, because they take excellent care of the facilities, and the staff is outstanding.
Photos
At the top is a photo of me just coming in from my daily swim at LA Fitness, in Round Lake Beach, Illinois, because I am ready to shower, and change. I swim a non-stop mile everyday, and do somersaults at the end of the lane so as to keep my motions continuous. LA Fitness is the best, and I am glad to have joined. The photos at the bottom are of me at the pool in LA Fitness in Round Lake Beach, IL.
I Swim For Life ~ A Self-Portrait #515Z As Fine Art
Gay bartender Pen&ink #514Z, drawing with pencil sketch, by artist, and Veteran, Stephen F. Condren, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, with gay LGBTQ approved prints, and scans. Prints & Scans Of This Drawing #514Z ~ Order Here.
The gay bar has been the tradition home base for the LGBTQ community, because it is a place of refuge. The gay bar offers LGBTQ men, and women the freedom to be themselves, because of the strong social stigma given to them.
Pencil Drawing
Above is my pen & ink drawing of a gay bartender, because he is pouring drinks. The bartender is the social focus of the bar, because he sets the tone of the conversation. A leading personality in the LGBTQ community, because he makes people feel good. I have made a point to detail the shadows with a good amount of hatching, and cross-hatching, because this nicely diffuses the lighting. I was careful not to put too many hatch lines in the drawing, because I did not want the drawing to become too dark. When working with pen & ink you have to be careful not to get carried away, because in the end you will ruin the drawing.
Gay bartender Pen&ink #514Z, pen & ink drawing with pencil, offering prints & scans, by artist Stephen F. Condren of Condren Galleries, with gay LGBTQ approved prints, and scans.
Artist Stephen F. Condren Of Condren Galleries, A Fine Arts Gallery
Gay hookups #513Z, drawing with pencil contour lines, by artist, and Veteran, Stephen F. Condren, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, with gay LGBTQ approved prints, and scans. Prints & Scans Of This Drawing #513Z ~ Order Here.
In the world of gay hookups you have a vast spectrum of sexual options, because of on-line dating apps. With the advent of the Internet, and cell phone apps, gay hookups are far easier than ever, because you no longer have to go out to a gay bar and prowl. The horror, and danger in all of this, is that you are risking your very life, because the hookup scene is infested with swindle.
Pen & ink drawing of a gay bartender pouring drinks by artist Stephen F. Condren.
When you go on to Grindr or Gaydar, you will find all kinds of images of dudes wanting to hookup, because they are there, and waiting. The vast majority of these image are lies, because they are outdated or just not the person. It is safer to hookup at a gay bar, because you are at least meeting someone real. When you hookup with a stranger on-line be ready to get mugged or worse.
Pencil Rendering For
Above is my pencil drawing of a gay cowboy looking to hookup because his eyes are right on you, and his zipper is ajar. Is he a hustler looking for fast cash, or just newbie, because you do not know until you meet?
The best advise I have to offer is stay at home, and do not hookup, because it is dangerous. If you need sex, then go through the appropriate channels like straight people do, because that is safer. In other words, get a proper introduction from a friend, because that is safety.
Gay hookups #513Z, pencil drawing of an unzipped shirtless cowboy, by artist Stephen F. Condren of Condren Galleries, with gay LGBTQ approved prints, and scans.
Artist Stephen F. Condren Of Condren Galleries, A Fine Arts Gallery
Paul Tillich #512Z, pen & ink portrait with pencil sketch, by artist, and Veteran, Stephen F. Condren, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery. Prints & Scans Order Here.
A peer of the famous New Testament Theologian Albert Schweitzer, Paul Tillich ranks as one of the greatest Theologians of the 20th Century, because he understood New Testament times. Both he, and Albert Schweitzer died in the same year, 1965. Paul Tillich was more philosophical in his Theological approach than Albert Schweitzer, because he was more of a Philosopher than a New Testament Scholar. New Testament scholars are absorbed with the technical aspects of the text, whereas Theologian are more abstract in their writings.
Above is my pen & ink drawing of Paul Tillich, because he was a professor at the University of Chicago. He wrote his famous Systematic Theology while at the University of Chicago. This work is very profound and looks at the Bible and Christianity in contemporary terms. Paul Tillich never attempts to put new wine into old wineskins, because he is a first rate thinker.
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Paul Tillich #512Z, pen & ink portrait with prints & scans, by artist Stephen F. Condren, of Condren Galleries.
Mindset of Biblical authors #511Z, inspired writers pen & ink drawing with pencil sketch, by artist, and Veteran, Stephen F. Condren, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery. Prints & Scans Order Here.
It must be made clear in the mind of today, the mindset of the authors of the Bible, because they are far removed from us. People today very wrongly pick up a recent translation of the Bible, and read it like it was fresh off of the press, because they think it is current work. The Bible is not current at all, because it was written thousands of years ago. Further, these people did not write in our language, because they wrote in remote Semitic, and Greek.
Pencil Drawing
Above is my drawing of a Jewish Rabbi writing in the Tora, because he is a devout Jew. Most of the New Testament was written by Jews, because the first Christians were all Jews. These Jews were what we call today “Judaizers”, because they were Christians that follow the Jewish Laws.
This is all fine and good, however, these people barely knew if the world was round, that there is a subconscious, and that we are formed genetically, not made from Adam & Eve. Further, these people were not aware of light, and the Theory of Relativity, Nuclear Fission, and Radioactivity. To even have the most remote expectation to ask a man of modern times to embrace a mindset of such crude, and remote circumstances, is pure folly. These people only look to Moses, and the law attempting to make people of their time fit into the old wineskins of the Tora. These were people only looking backwards, because they did not know anything else.
Humanity
The best course of action is to read what they have written, and to interpret it in our times, as we know and understand where they are writing from. For surely, their writings are not hot off of the press, and not fresh. I speak with respect, and not with disparagement, because few people in the History of the World have offered more to humanity than the Jews. Now, let us wisely take what they have given to us, because we can always learn something when we open our minds.
Below is my pen & ink drawing of Theologian Paul Tillich.
Mindset of Biblical authors #511Z, inspired writers pen & ink drawing with pencil, offering prints & scans, by artist Stephen F. Condren of Condren Galleries.
Artist Stephen F. Condren Of Condren Galleries, A Fine Arts Gallery
Holy Spirit Clorox #510Z, pen & ink drawing with pencil sketch, by artist, and Veteran, Stephen F. Condren, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery. Prints & Scans Order Here.
The Bible is a book that looks backwards, because it is written by backward thinking people. The Bible is not the inspired word of God, because it was written by mortal men. No book has ever been written that is inspired by God, because that is a myth. A better word to use is motivator, or encourager, but not inspired, because that smacks of the Divine.
Above is my pen & ink drawing of the Holy Spirit holding a bottle of Clorox over Jesus, because He is going to bleach out the myths of the Bible. Great thinkers like Albert Schweitzer, and Rudolph Bultmann have worked very hard to come closer to the true meaning of the message of the Bible.
People that believe that the Bible is the inspired word of Go are putting themselves to a disadvantage, because they are not being objective. The Bible needs to be read like a common book, because all of the miracles need to be stripped out. These miracles were meant to enhance the authority of the writing, however, they only make it less credible, because all miracles are fables.
Approach
The most important thing to understand is your approach to the Bible, because that affects how you read it. If you approach the Bible like those from the Chicago Statement of Biblical Inerrancy, then you have a very limited understanding of the task at hand. If you want to get a better understanding of the Bible read it for yourself, because others will have you read it in their way.
Sinaiticus Redaction Criticism #506Z, a pun of Biblical Criticism pen & ink drawing with pencil sketch, by artist, and Veteran, Stephen F. Condren, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery. Prints & Scans Order Here.
Found by Constantin von Tischendorf, Sinaiticus is one of the oldest Bible manuscipts in the world, because it was found in its place of origin. Sinaiticus ranks in status with Codex Vaticanus in historicity, because of it’s authenticity. Modern Bible research has taken a secular stance on the hermeneutics of the Bible, because they think is written by man not God. I agree with this view, because the Bible is a document made by men. The inspiration of the Bible is personal, because all people approach it with different points of view.
Bible scholars from all over the world look to Sinaiticus for deeper understanding of the Scripture, because it is closer to Jesus. The logic is that if the manuscript is old it is a closer news account of the life of Jesus, because hit would be an eye witness.
Pencil Drawing
Above is my pen & ink drawing with pencil sketch of Sinaiticus being cut to pieces, because it is a pun on Biblical Criticism. The scene takes place in Tischendorf Hardware, where scissors, and razors are being used to cut apart Codex Sinaiticus, because it is cleaning up the Bible. A portrait of Constantin von Tischendorf hand on the hardware store wall, because he is the owner. The razors are manufactured by Bultmann Incorporated, because they are a discount razor supplier.
Below is my drawing of the Holy Spirit bleaching out the miracles from the Gospels, because miracles are not real.
Pen & ink drawing of the Holy Spirit as a dove hovering over Jesus in the Jordan River, baptizing Him with a bottle of Clorox, by artist Stephen F. Condren.
Pen & ink drawing of Jesus teaching to the people by artist Stephen F. Condren.
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Sinaiticus Redaction Criticism #506Z, pen & ink drawing, with prints & scans, by artist Stephen F. Condren of Condren Galleries.
Artist Stephen F. Condren Of Condren Galleries, A Fine Arts Gallery
