Welcome to New Subscribers to My Substack!
Hello to those of you who are new to my substack, which only began one month ago. I am excited by the number of people who have subscribed.
The subscription is free, but please contribute to the running costs. This will help pay for my time and further my mission of evangelising culture through my writing, art, and the time I spend promoting established artists and mentoring up-and-coming artists.
For example, I am committed to promoting the masters and apprentices at the Stabat Mater Atelier in Tyler, Texas, and the Chichester Workshop for Liturgical Art in England.
On The Way of Beauty substack, you will find reflections on art, culture, beauty, and faith. I will share insights from my past and ongoing journey, discuss the transformative power of beauty, and collaborate with others to influence and enrich our cultural landscape. My recent post about how the palaeolithic art from the caves of Lascaux in France reveals a natural desire for God and my interview with Deacon Keith Fournier about the Way of Beauty for LifeSite News are examples. I will also occasionally show you examples of my own art, including this recently completed illumination of The Entry into Jerusalem.
In addition to general articles about art and culture, I have some special projects you will read about that relate to the broad theme of evangelising culture.
First, I am the Artist-in-Residence of the Scala Foundation (scalafoundation.org), which aims to transform Western culture through beauty in education and liturgy. I will write about the Foundation's news and events, such as the recently Scala-sponsored concert at the Princeton Theological Seminary, which featured premiers of recently rediscovered ancient choral polyphony from Europe and Russia.
Second, I am the Provost of Pontifex University (www.Pontifex.University), from which I created the unique Master of Sacred Arts program. This program is based on the traditional formation given to artists and is designed for creatives in any discipline. It does not teach artistic skills but instead offers a formation that complements the practice of those skills by encouraging the artist to create beautifully, gracefully, and in harmony with God's creative work.
Third, I am writing commentaries for the House of Leiden art museum catalogue. This new museum will open in Leiden Holland in 2026. It is a wonderful collection of Low Countries art, mostly sacred art, from the 14th - 18th centuries, much of which has never been seen publicly. I will post some of these commentaries occasionally, along with news about the museum as it nears completion. My second post (on a painting of Mary with Christ and a book, is an example.
Finally, I will be writing about the Way of Beauty program, which is the spiritual formation of artistic creativity and beauty presented as a formation for individuals. I currently personally mentor individuals through this program, but I intend to expand access to this life-changing program. The Scala Foundation intends to develop it as a ministry by creating online resources; and to develop as a curriculum to be offered to high schools. You can download a four-page flier describing this program
