Celebrity #040K pen & ink drawing, which are stylus sketches, is an article about the artwork of celebrities, written by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, at Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering prints and JPEG & PDF scans, which are on sale at low discount prices. Because celebrity pen & ink drawings are great, their prints are great!
Pen & ink portrait of Bo Roberts with no shirt by artist Stephen F. Condren.
This article is about Jory Spears and Stephen F. Condren pen & ink drawing, which is for sale at discount with prints by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF scans. Jory Spears is one of my oldest and dearest friends. We grew up together in the Jackson Park Highlands on the south side of Chicago in Hyde Park Township. Jory is the son of James and Virginia Spears owner of Spears Transportation in Chicago. The Spears were perhaps the first Black family in the Highlands and having the Spear’s as neighbors was an enrichment to my life!
I have no better friend that Jory Spears. We grew up together and did so much with other good friends. I remember on time that Jory and I rode our bikes all the from home, in the Highlands, all the way downtown to the radio station WVON. When we arrived, the management took great delight in our visit and gave us a “Chef’s tour” of the radio station. It was a wonderful experience.
Also, I will recall the “Big Snow” of 1967. Mrs. Spears wanted to get some bread and mild as it was pouring snow. So she asked us if we would go to the store on 71st Street and see if there was any, as she know this kind of thing brought on a rush to the stores. So we went to both the “A & P” and “New Liberty”. Jory and I had a blast going to the “New Liberty” grocery store, that we called “Pete’s” and making frolic on 71st Street in the deep drifts of snow. There was a stranded milk truck, right outside, and in front of “Pete’s”, and he was selling one gallon bottles of milk for $5.00 a piece! This was back in 1967.The “A & P” grocery store was cleared out of all breads, and dairy products.
Jory Spears home, son of James and Virginia Spears, of Spears Transportation.The Condren’s, 6841 S. Bennett Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60649The Condren’s, 6841 S. Bennett Avenue, Chicago, IL 60649. Aerial view of the back yard.Home of the Reverend Jesse Jackson, 6848 S. Constance, Jackson Park Highlands.Home of Ramsey Lewis, 1831 E. 69th Street, Jackson Park Highlands.
Delineation
The line work for this drawing is very light because Mr. Spears is wearing a coat.
This article is about Charles Krauthammer pen & ink drawing, which is for sale at discount with prints by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF scans. Charles Krauthammer, a brilliant man dedicated to learning and humanity. As a news anchor and commentator for CNN, Dr. Krauthammer earned the respect and admiration of people from all over the world. A great and honorable man ~ God bless Dr. Charles Krauthammer.
Delineation
The line work for this drawing is very light because Dr. Krauthammer is older. When using pen & inks it is vital to measure every stroke.
This article is about Vincent Van Gogh, a second rate artist, by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF prints and scans. As a graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago with a major in Drawing & Painting I speak with reflection, earnestness, and authority on the subject of Art. Prints & Scans Of This Drawing #131Z ~ Order Here.
Task
A difficult to almost impossible task for anyone is to look at the work of a famous artist objectively. This topic can take up volumes and delve into the vast Psychological as well as Philosophical aspects involved in this task as well. However, for the scope of this small article I will not venture into these vast and complicated disciplines and keep the focus narrow like the scalpel of a surgeon, narrow but to the point.
Crudeness
When looking at the works of Vincent Van Gogh and coupling them with the known facts that we have of him I can only say that I am looking at the work of a truly second rate artist. Not only this, the manifestation of his images are always crude. There is no elegance and grace in any of the works of Vincent Van Gogh. These works come from the mind of sick person, a predator, a stalker.
The four paintings of Madame Roulin for example are nothing short of creepy and crude that lack grace, tone, balance, and any aesthetically pleasing elements. Madame Roulin’s face is simply repulsive by color and draftsmanship.
When looking at Starry Night I see insanity everywhere, and the large trees that loom in the foreground to the left are manifestations of giant Monsters from the Id, there is no comfort here.
Cutting Off Ear
The drawing of the Pollard birches are Vincent at his best and here we see that he lacks control of line work. There are no contour lines but rather a cluster of smaller stokes. Like his paintings everything is pulsating and deranged.
I ask the reader to just attempt to look at these works and make your own assessments. Please, come to these works with your own eyes and not of the vast sea of curators, critics, and dealers that are just towing the line of the times. Just look at these works and ask yourself would you hang any of them on your walls?
The act of cutting off your ear and sending it to those that you know is an incredible and horrific thing. These are the acts of a stalker and predator not a healthy well balanced person. However, History is glossing over this disturbing behavior in order to make manifest the “mad genius artist” myth. Today, if I were to cut off my ear would people be “accommodating towards me”, would it drive up the prices of my work?
Demythologize
We need to “demythologize” the life of Vincent Van Gogh, just like New Testament scholars such as Albert Schweitzer, Rudolph Bultmann, and Norman Perrin have done with the “Life of Jesus”. Vincent Van Gogh was a man of flesh and blood and was a predator. The best that the works of Vincent Van Gogh have to offer is a study of the mind of a malicious, crude, mentally disturbed person. Shall we now ponder the art works of Richard Speck and Charles Manson? It is cruel and wrong to elevate the works of the disturbed. Like the works of Pablo Picasso, the best place for them is in a vault because they are safe, gaining in value, and you don’t have to look at them.
Delineation
The line work for this drawing is very light because Mr. Van Gogh is so young.
This article is about Conrad Hilton pen & ink drawing, which is for sale at discount with prints by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF scans. Conrad Hilton was sentenced in a grand theft auto case. The event was the sealing of a 2007 Bentley Continental belonging to Rick Salomon and for breeching a “Stay away” court order.
Delineation
The line work for this drawing is very light because Mr. Hilton is so young.
This article is about Paul Tillich & Ultimate Concern has a twist that I would like to touch upon and give clarity to, by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF scans. This article is short and to the point. The follow is a quote from page 12 of his Systematic Theology.
“Theology cannot and should not give judgments about the aesthetic value of an artist creation, about the scientific value of a physical theory or a historical conjecture, about the best methods of medical healing or social reconstruction, about the solution of political or international conflicts. The theologian as theologian is no expert in any matters of preliminary concern.”
If this true, then how do we measure Social Justice? Certainly “social reconstruction” is all and part of social reconstruction. If Theology cannot give any judgment on this matter then who can?
Pentagram
Jesus, a real flesh and blood person, preaching to the people to emancipate Israel from the Romans, and not to found a new religion. He died on the cross, a failure, and did not rise from the dead, or the grave. Jesus is the anthropomorphic element needed to place the crown (stephanos) on.
Christ, an ethereal Being created by the early Church with aid from Greek Philosophy and Gnosticism, promulgating salvation from death by offering eternal life by having faith in Him.
St. Stephen the catalyst that brings Jesus and Christ together as one entity being made manifest to the world, being the very essence of the crown of victory, (note all of the parallels between Jesus and St. Stephen. See my article on St. Stephen). Only St. Stephen has the power (Holy Spirit, Acts: 7,55) to bind Jesus and Christ the right hand of God) together to give to the world for all time Jesus Christ, because he is the very crown of victory, hence the name Stephen. Where the dead corps of Jesus leaves the crown of Christ enters. It is the crown (stephanos) that gives life to Christ and secures the newer higher religion. Without the crown there is no Christ, no Christianity, no eternal life, and new world order. Everyone wrongly looks to the sacrificial blood of Christ as the key to salvation, but they are all wrong. For the pascal lamb is dead and offers no life, as proved by the lifeless corps of the animal, and the futile repetition of the lame barbaric sacrifice. There is no life in sheded blood, only death, for when you see blood you see death. The crucifiction was never meant to be seen as a sacrifice for there is no altar and it is not sacred. Rather the crucifiction was a heinous penalty of treason, a proof of failure, and a public disgrace, and a display of male nudity, (Jesus wore no loin cloth), which was an abomination to the Jews and Romans alike. Whereas the crown is blood free, carnal free, and triumphant, and offers life eternal.
St. Paul, the tool of the early Church to change the failed mission of Jesus and migrates His cause to that of Christ to make sense of it by formulating a newer and higher religion palpable to all peoples.
There is no Trinity.
Delineation
The line work for this drawing is very light because Dr. Tillich is older and I worked with a photo that was not as clear as I would have liked.
Paul Tillich #127Z, Theologian, Systematic Theology, and Ultimate Concern, by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, of Condren Galleries. Prints & Scans Of This Drawing #127Z ~ Order Here.
Ultimate Concern
In Paul Tillich’s tome, The Systematic Theology, he has set out a vast canvas and has taken on the task of a Michelangelo, by of painting it with a stupendous masterpiece. The Theological concept of the Ultimate Concern, is the focus of my task. I will tackle this great work piece by piece rather than write a long and laborious series of articles on it. It is best to be pithy. The text that I shall refer to is The Systematic Theology, University of Chicago Press, 1967, ISBN 0-226-80336-8.
Interpretation
My focus for this article is his concept of the ultimate concern. My interpretation is that of an Artist, and Humanist.
Page 12:
“Every theologian is committed and alienated; he is always in faith and doubt; he is inside and outside the theological circle. Sometimes the one side prevails, sometime the other; and he is never certain which side really prevails. Therefore, one criterion alone can be applied: a person can be a theologian as long as he acknowledges the content of the theological circle as his ultimate concern. Whether this is true does not depend on his intellectual or moral or emotional state; it does not depend on the intensity and certitude of faith; it does not depend on the power of regeneration or the grade of sanctification. Rather it depends on his being ultimately concerned with the Christian message even if he is sometimes inclined to attack and to reject it.” Page 10.
I see two items of most importance, 1. The content of the Theological circle, 2. Reception of the Christian message.
Context is everything, and the most crucial element here is the material being used in the Theological circle. On top of that, the issue of the reception of the Christian message is addressed. I cannot hold to Dr. Tillich’s “attack and reject” wording for all Theology is theoretically and not iron clad. When you take on the garb of the Theologian you incorporate this doubt or alienation from the start. The proper use of Theology is employ it as a tool to help you understand better issues outside of yourself, otherwise you are wasting your time. Above all, no matter what the material nature of the Theological circle, the Christian message is that of salvation, and not a code of ethics, and moral guidelines.
Page 11:
“Today orthodox and pietist theologians are allied against the assumedly unbelieving critical theologians, while the heritage of orthodox objectivism has been taken over by the program (not the achievement) of empirical theology. In view of this age-old struggle it must be restated that the theologian belongs inside the theological circle but that the criterion whether or not he is in it is the acceptance of the Christian message as his ultimate concern.”
Acceptance of the Christian message is paramount, however, it is how the message is to be interpreted and made manifest to the Church. The mere mention of “empirical theology” opens a vast can of worms, for without doubt, we could not have made the outstanding Theological advances without the Historical Critical Method. The task at hand is to work together with hand-in-hand with all Theologian, despite the wide gap in Philosophical approaches.
Pope Francis, Patriarch Ignatius Ephrem II of Syriac Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I.
Page 11:
“We have used the term “ultimate concern” without explanation. Ultimate concern is the abstract translation of the great commandment: “The Lord, our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Mark 12:29. The religious concern is ultimate; it excludes all other concerns from ultimate significance; it makes them preliminary, The ultimate concern is unconditional, independent of any conditions of character, desire, or circumstance. The unconditional concern is total: no part of ourselves or of our world is excluded from it; there is no “place” to flee from it. Psalm 139. The total concern is infinite: no moment of relaxation and rest is possible in the face of a religious concern which is ultimate, unconditional, total, and infinite.”
The word “concern” points to the “existential” character of religious experience.”
I can only give hardy agreement with the lines above, for all good Theology is pervasive, and puts meaning into our every move. However, this does not mean every point by point action. Rather, it is the direction between those actions that are made manifest as the Ultimate Concern. For washing the dishes, or changing the tire on a car is not part of the Ultimate Concern, for these elements are transitional. How you wash the dishes, and why you wash them is Ultimate Concern.
This is good Theology, for Dr. Tillich is taking that with abstract and making it concrete and palpable for any Christian, of any Theological leaning.
Page 11:
“The object of theology is what concerns us ultimately. Only those propositions are theological which deal with their object in so far as it can become a matter of ultimate concern for us.” Now, to me, this is a very deep and person state of being, something that one continuously thinks and works through all of his life. But it must be clearly understood that he is talking about Theology and its task. When we grasp that, then we can then reflect its meaning to us.
The concept of the “Ultimate Concern” is not new at all, for it is very old stemming from the Bible, and the Church Fathers. Tillich’s articulation of the “Ultimate Concern is rather like the refashioning of Nothung by Siegfried, it is old yet now anew.
Theology
Page 12:
“Theology cannot and should not give judgments about the aesthetic value of an artist creation, about the scientific value of a physical theory or a historical conjecture, about the best methods of medical healing or social reconstruction, about the solution of political or international conflicts. The theologian as theologian is no expert in any matters of preliminary concern.”
In other words, Theology’s task is to keep to the topic of God and our relation to God via Theological paths filled with gauntlets of spiritual, psychological, and aesthetic biases along the way. However, one thing seem clear and that the “Ultimate Concern” deals directly with us and God and the paths between are many and complex. A clear and cogent example would be to compare God to the Superintendent of Schools and we mere mortals are somewhere in the classroom. My point here is that the Superintendent is omniscient and has to be so as to get his task done. Certainly he knows the lesson plans in the classroom after all he is a school teacher! But, the task is larger than the classroom or even the school, so too is out world and our lives.
Rational Character
Page 53:
“The question of the source, the medium, and the norm of systematic theology are related to its concrete-historical foundation. But systematic theology is not a historical discipline (as Schleiermacher wrongly asserted); it is a constructive task. It does not tell us what people have thought the Christian message to be in the past; rather it tries to gives us an interpretation of the Christian message which is relevant to the present situation. This raises the question, “To what extant does systematic theology have a rational character?” Certainly reason must be used to constructively in building a theological system. Nevertheless, there have been and still are many doubts and controversies concerning the role of reason in systematic theology.”
Dr. Tillich is biting off more than he can chew in this passage, for no theology of any kind is based on a historical science. At best what you are working with are the ideas of men from ages past articulating their thoughts, however, none of their accounts are fact based by any measure. When we speak of God, it is all in the realm of the plausible and not of the actual. All of the theology of all religions from all ages past are speculations with no substantive material to support them. This does not mean that they are not true or correct, it just simply means that they are not supported by facts. Thus, theology has no relationship to the a “concrete-historical foundation”. He is very correct in stating that theology is not a historical discipline.
Social Justice
The weakness in the perspective, and it is a very good and competent perspective, is that it leaves gaps of understand and with regard to other elements of our life such as Art, Social Justice, and Politics. Tillich is wrong, our ultimate concern does deal with God and the task of the Theologian is to help each of us in our own lives see this. However, God does concern himself with Social Justice and Aesthetics which in the case of the Christian are manifest in the teachings of Christ. Thus the Theologian can and should address “the solution of political or international conflicts.” One cannot worship God in a blur, we are beings with a mental, physical, and spiritual nature, which can only be satisfied by a worship that incorporates all of these elements of our being.
We are not off the hook, for we are in need of solutions, now more than ever. The ultimate concern is fine in terms of the Superintendent’s office, however, at the same time the matters that are in the classroom can come straight past his office to the School Board. My point being that elements concerning Social Justice have to be dealt with in concrete, solid workable terms and not in abstract concepts that offer no solutions to the issues at hand.
Clearly the mission of Jesus, John the Baptist, the Essenes, and other marginal groups were to muster up a grass-roots movement that would empower local members of the synagogues to united and stand up against Rome. All of this was of course treason, and in the end cost them with their due penalty. Since the caucus was early and smaller with John the Baptist, the real leader and organizer of the movement, Herod was able to “keep it in the classroom” and deal with the Baptist himself. However, Herod’s handling of John the Baptist only exacerbated the patriotism of the movement which made it foment and gather strength, which it did under the second-in-command, Jesus. However, due to the size and continued strength of the grass-roots movement, Herod was not able to “keep it in the classroom” as it gained attention in the principle’s office, Pontius Pilate, and the rest is history.
Jesus. Jesus, a real flesh and blood person, preaching to the people to emancipate Israel from the Romans, and not to found a new religion. He died on the cross, a failure, and did not rise from the dead, or the grave. Jesus is the anthropomorphic element needed to place the crown (stephanos) on.
Christ. Christ, an ethereal Being created by the early Church with aid from Greek Philosophy and Gnosticism, promulgating salvation from death by offering eternal life by having faith in Him.
St. Stephen. St. Stephen the catalyst that brings Jesus and Christ together as one entity being made manifest to the world, being the very essence of the crown of victory, (note all of the parallels between Jesus and St. Stephen. See my article on St. Stephen). Only St. Stephen has the power (Holy Spirit, Acts: 7,55) to bind Jesus and Christ the right hand of God) together to give to the world for all time Jesus Christ, because he is the very crown of victory, hence the name Stephen. Where the Spirit leaves the dead corps of Jesus on the cross, the crown of the living and eternal Christ enters. It is the crown (stephanos, the garland wreath of honor and victory) that gives life to Christ and secures the newer higher religion. Without the crown there is no Christ, no Christianity, no eternal life, and no new world order.
Sacrifice. Everyone wrongly looks to the sacrificial blood of Jesus as the key to salvation, but they are all wrong. For the paschal lamb is dead and offers no life, as proved by the lifeless corps of the animal, and the futile repetition of the lame barbaric sacrifice. The paschal lamb was only a vicarious agent for the atonement, and not a vehicle offering eternal life. Forgiveness of sins has nothing to do with eternal life. There is no record of any paschal lamb rising from the dead on the altar, which should have taken place, as anticipation and precursor of the up and coming resurrection of Jesus in years to come, if this were true. There is no life in bloodshed, only death, for when you see blood you see death.
Crucifixion. The crucifixtion was never meant to be a sacrifice for there was no altar, and it was not sacred ground, or clean in any regard, as Jewish law demands. Suited only for a filthy and unfit sacrifice, the opposite of what the Gospel editors are strenuously trying to convey. For the blood of heathen Romans, and gentiles permeated the soils, making for a parcel of utter filth. For all the pain-staking care that the editors of the Gospels took to show Jesus as pure and undefiled throughout His career, and by both Pilate and Herod at His trial, they failed to carry through with their pristine depiction of Jesus at Golgotha, because it was very real, bigger than life, and they just could not hide it, control it, or explain it away, which makes the crucifixtion all the more authentic. This was a major literary flaw for the Gospel editors because crucifixion just does not work, does not fit into the context of Jewish sacrificial law, and exposes what Jesus and John the Baptist were all about. Since the Gospel editors could not hide it they tried to make it work, but it did not. Crucifixtion was a gruesome, horrific penalty for treason, a proof of failure, a public disgrace, and a display of male nudity, (Jesus wore no loin cloth), which was an abomination to the Jews and Romans alike. It took centuries of brainwashing on the part of the Church to “make it work” but it does not. For sure the crucifixion of Jesus was most assuredly real, but this does not give credence to the resurrection, or any kind of life after death. In complete contrast the crown is bloodshed free, carnal free, and triumphant, offering honor, glory, and eternal life.
St. Paul. St. Paul, a tool of the early Church Pauline corpus editorial committee, hence the leitmotiv of verse Acts 7:58, as the key messenger of St. Stephen’s vision, that changed the failed mission of Jesus and migrates His cause to that of Christ to make sense of it by formulating a newer and higher religion palpable to all peoples. Thus, the real, authentic, earthly house of King David was transformed into the ethereal Kingdom of God in the heavens. Now Israel would again conquer and this time win as they have God on their side, and they are legions. Christianity is the triumph of Israel.
This article is about Bill Clinton pen & ink drawing, which is for sale at discount with prints by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF scans. While on the NBC “Today Show” Bill Clinton has a meltdown after telling the host that for the past 20 years he has been doing his best to live a good and decent life.
Mr. Clinton said that when he left the White House, he was $16 million dollars in debt. This sounds very strange to me when his current net worth is in the range of $80 million.
Delineation
The line work for this drawing is very light because Mr. Clinton is older.
This article is about Sandra Bullock pen & ink drawing, which is for sale at discount with prints by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF scans. Sandra truly an image of a lady of grace and high station! Sandra opens up about her life as an actress and the adoption of her children and how they have changed here life permanently. She shares with us that she does not work that much anymore but rather she lives for her children.
She has pointed out the colleges that she approves of because she would feel comfortable living there near them. Sandra shed tears as she shared with us the moments that she took up adoption.
Delineation
The line work for this drawing is very light because Mr. Holland is so young.
This is an article about a drawing of President Bill Clinton, which is for sale at discount with prints by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF scans. Bill Clinton is without doubt the most despicable, two timing sex fiend that we have ever had in the office of President. He is a model of disgrace across the board to all Americans no matter what walk of life. If any Republican President ever had sex with anyone in the side staircase of the Oval Office he/she would be gone immediately, but not Bill Clinton.
Just the mere sight of him sickens me as I am looking at the image of first class hypocrite and looks seeking “Do-gooder”. No thanks, you can have this guy!
Delineation
The line work for this drawing is very light because Mr. Clinton is older.
This article is about Valerie Jarrett pen & ink drawing, which is for sale at discount with prints by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF scans. Valerie Jarrett is now stating that “It’s time to demand better”, as the aftermath of the Roseanne Barr racist tweet.
Delineation
The line work for this drawing is very light because Mr. Jarrett has very smooth skin.
