David Chapman Lindsay is an innovative artist living and working in Texas. It’s almost hard to capture the beauty of his work in this two-dimensional vantage. His work has been exhibited all over the United States and in Italy, Germany, and Romania. He says of his work, “My work has developed to focus on the interaction between painted images of the human form and the structured surfaces upon which the figures are depicted. The architectural space of the canvas is used as a metaphor for those cultural, social, religious, etc. influences that manipulate the way we perceive ourselves and others. This structure also coaxes the viewer into a dance with the imagery, a dance in which the imagery is understood not just by the eyes, but also by the body; moving in space around the painting.”

Tell us about your career as an artist. When I finished my undergraduate degree at Utah State University, I was married and had one child. We went to live with my in-laws in California while we figured out what to do next. This was a couple of years before the “Internet bubble” burst and with my meager computer design skills I was able to get interviews with companies looking for designers. Every time I would go to one of these, my wife would stay home and pray that I did not get the job. She did not tell me that until much later. I would paint in the evenings and started to get into a few exhibits (again, thanks to my wife) and a number of commissions. We decided (with lots of prayer) that we would move up to the Pacific Northwest. My uncle lives in Portland and said that we could take a corner of his downtown warehouse to use as a studio. This was in 2000, and Portland was an amazing place to be as an artist. It must have been one of the most vibrant art scenes in the country then (it is still very good). We made a lot of art, starved a lot, said a lot more prayer, had another child, picked a lot of blackberries, and after two years went to graduate school. By then I had five solo exhibits, three gallery relationships, and a lot of debt.

You served a mission in Italy. How much were you able to experience the art and culture of Italy while you were there. Have you been back? I did not have a lot of companions on my mission that wanted to go to the museums on our day off, although one of my companions and I did work as street artists to try to teach the gospel. But you cannot get away from the culture there, why would you want to? It is a part of everything. One of the characteristics of that wonderful place, that the Italians would tell us about, is the fact that the “cities are made to the measure of a man”. We might say that most American cities are made to the measure of an automobile, and that our physical interaction with the city is activated not on foot, but in a car. This stuck to me like glue, and continues to influence my thinking. While an undergraduate student, my wife and I found a deal for tickets to Italy: $900 for both of us and our young son! He had his first birthday there. Gratefully, my employment has allowed my many opportunities to return. Last April I went back to do some research for a book that I am writing. I took that same son (now sixteen) with me. He was telling me how he could stay there and live off earnings as a street performer. Luckily, he did return home with me.

You have said, “the shape of the space that surrounds us can affect the way we perceive ourselves.” Explain.  The Pantheon in Rome is built with interesting geometry. The shape of the space is that of a sphere, whose top is the dome, sides are the walls of the building and the bottom of the sphere is directly in the middle of the floor. When you stand in that place, you can feel space around you. It is like a living force that you become aware of in that building. It is ironic that just outside of that temple, the medieval city is claustrophobic. I love the dichotomy of an enclosed, claustrophobic exterior space and a vast, open interior space.

Being in a place where the architecture speaks so directly to the body: how we move around the space, how we feel in the place; that really was the seed for my work, to try to find a vocabulary to talk about the feeling of a space, and how it bends who we see ourselves as. On a trip to Italy, one of my children, just a year old, found out that the volume of their voice would be greatly increased by the cavernous spaces of the cathedrals. Every time that we entered into one he would start to shout. This was not a cry, but a deliberate attempt to hear the echo of his own voice in those big churches. It was comical and difficult to deal with, but it was interesting to see how that small child felt empowered by the space that he was in. At that young age, he was able to identify what kind of building would create the echo.

Tell us about teaching at Texas Tech. What are your students like. How is the art community? Lubbock is not beautiful. But I get to brag to my artist friends living in big cities that the two resources that Lubbock has plenty of are time and space. For an artist, those are precious commodities. There is a wonderful community here, the University adds a lot of flavor to the city, West Texans are some of the kindest people anywhere, we have a temple, and an art scene that attracts 3-4,000 people at the openings every month.

Visit David Chapman Lindsay’s website.

Patrick Kramer is a stunning oil painter often called a ‘hyper realistic painter’. I assure you that each of these are oil paintings–not photographs. Kramer was born in Utah to German immigrants and studied at BYU.  Kramer explains his artistic style, “I came to realize that the appeal of representational painting since the advent of photography is due in a large part to the painting process. Although the image itself may come to resemble an ordinary photograph, a psychological intensity can be felt in the handmade work, as the artist’s laboriously slow method, intense concentration, and myriad of artistic decisions lie behind the creation of the image. In my work, I hope the viewer senses this tension between photography and the handmade — the instantaneous and the prolonged, the ubiquitous and the unique, the impartial and the personal.”

Visit Patrick Kramer’s website.

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Katrina Berg is the most calorie-rich Mormon painter since Wayne Thiebaud. Berg lives in Utah with her husband and five kids.

You paint a lot of cakes and cupcakes. Tell us about it. “A bite or taste is much like a memory: frozen in time and cataloged with those things we whole most dear.” Most of the cakes have a story, or represent experiences of friends and loved ones. One portrayed the cheesecake I craved incessantly when I was pregnant with our twin boys. Another represents a friend who would make us a Bundt just to keep us going when she knew we were simply surviving. Still another depicts the wise mother who told her son to bring home flowers to his wife and to not give up on their marriage. Most celebrate sweet moments or things others have taught me. Sometimes they are not always happy memories…but a sweet learning experience none-the-less. Life isn’t always yummy, but there is always that gesture or a sweet bite that lifts our spirits and makes us smile…at times it’s just what we need to endure one more moment. Do you have a favorite restaurant you frequent on vacation or return to for a special event? Maybe the food is not the best, but the people or celebration made the food that much sweeter? These cakes are meant to encapsulate these types of experiences…and to welcome new ones.

You studied at UNLV and BYU, studied abroad in France and Italy, and studied landscape architecture among other things. How do these disparate parts shape your art? One of my best friends in architecture school, and later roommates while we studied Italian gardens and hill towns, gave me my first set of paints for my birthday. I was 25. Like many artists, I was a compulsive doodler (is that even a word?!). Traveling and living abroad changed my perspective so very much and the only way I knew to express what was radiating from within was to paint. I’ve always been interested in so many things, searching for beauty as my personal quest. Painting has helped make sense of my journey and helped me express these discoveries. In most pieces you’ll find  natural elements within the wallpaper or textiles in the backgrounds of my still life and interiors. The desire to bring the outside in began with my landscape architecture studies. Living in Northern Utah changed that desire to a need…as we’re blanketed in Winter-white goodness, I love to enjoy a bit of “green” in my art.

Life has been a series of pretty remarkable challenges from ‘Forrest Gump’ leg braces, infertility, and severe allergies to abuse when you were a child. How did these experiences shape your faith and your creativity? The two greatest gifts that I have personally been given are the Lord’s Infinite Atonement and Empathy. There are so many that have suffered far more than I and I remember that often. Yet, I feel so very grateful to be able to help a friend through a similar challenge…it can be such a lonely road these trials of ours. I’m constantly reminded that these experiences come with obligations…to learn something, to become stronger in our faith and testimony, and to help others. This life was never meant to be faced alone, and sometimes the only people who truly understand what we are up against are our Savior and Redeemer, and those who’ve overcome. Without these challenges, how willing would I be to accept and better understand the gift of the Atonement? His grace is truly sufficient for all and covers all…knowing how much He loves us and the joy He and our Father in Heaven feel as we serve and lift one another brings me joy. Life is messy and life is hard. And yet, we as artists have the opportunity to serve, lift, teach, and offer beauty as we create. There is good all around and I feel it is my quest to celebrate this good as I paint.

You and your husband built a green home. What is your studio like? What is your work style? Concrete tilt up walls and floors act as a thermal mass to capture the heat, warming our home in the winter and cooling it in the summer, where floor-to ceiling windows provide passive solar heat. These large windows offer an abundance of natural, non-direct sunlight wherever I paint. I have a studio adjacent to our bedroom that I’m currently sharing with our twin babies. Getting twins to nap and sleep through the night has been a full-time job, so I’m currently painting in our dining room lol. Last summer I temporarily painted at a large table in our living room…they have all had great lighting, we just adapt, seeking what works best for our family. One day the twins will move in with their big brothers and we’ll finish the two-story greenhouse…and then I’ll be able to open the double glass doors from my 2nd story studio and let in the aroma from the plants and fruit trees growing within. One day… Till then, I consider myself a “dream painter”, primarily painting as the babies sleep. My husband and I schedule studio time for me a couple nights a week or weekends. I hire babysitters and have a dear friend who volunteers to take my 5 kiddos every so often so I can paint. During these studio sessions I make every moment count and don’t let anything like emails or my phone deter me from my precious painting time. I’m so thankful to all that help and support my passion.

Visit Katrina Berg’s website.

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Waldo Midgley was a watercolor and oil painter from Utah that spent most of life working in New York City. Born in 1888, he studied under Mahonri Young in Utah, attended the New York School of Art, and later studied under Robert Henri. Art historian Donna Poulton wrote that Midgley, “rejected the constrained conservatism of the National Academy of Design in favor of art that expressed forceful themes and rich subject matter, and that captured the excitement of New York scenes and people.” He painted the newly completed Empire State Building before its communication tower was erected (above). He passed away in 1986.

John Zamudio was born in Lima, Peru and was accepted at the National School of Fine Arts in Peru and went on to study oil painting at the Art Museum of Quinta Vergara in Vina del Mar, Chile. He worked in business for 15 years before returning to art. He joined the Church at age 15. As he says, “I consider myself someone who believes in expressing inspiring messages beyond the colors or brushstrokes to make the world a better place to live.”

You have dealt with injuries to your hands and prolonged depression during your life. How did these challenges shape you as an artist? I had a bad accident to my hands was when I was 2 and I have no memories about having healthy hands to compare a before and an after. I started to struggle with my hands when I started the kindergarten, only in that time I realized that I had some issues with my hands because of bullying and I felt very ashamed for that. The situation pushed me to spend time in the classroom even during the recesses trying to do something in my notebook like drawing or painting because I felt that I wasn’t able to have friends. Those challenges in my childhood shaped me as an artist and encouraged me to help children. Now I’m helping children through a non-profit organization to discover and develop their artistic skills though free painting lessons in African countries and South American countries and soon in Utah. In fact, in my next show I will exhibit my paintings and children artwork together to encourage them, it will be in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building during the next general Conference in October 2015.

How do you approach a new painting. I studied oil painting in Lima, then some art lessons in Chile and Europe and my style is realist oil on canvas. I’m always trying to find new mediums and styles, I’ve learned how to paint digitally for the LDS Church Magazines and now I do both, oil on canvas and digital brushes. I work with real models in real scenarios, with real ancient legends and real clothing to make them closer to the reality. I include a lot of people in my compositions to paint huge canvases that take between 6 and 9 months each of them.

Visit John Zamudio’s website.