Detective Work!

The last speaker in our past General Conference was Elder Andersen.  His talk was: "The Voice of the Lord," and it was excellent.  He began his talk with:

"Recently, while visiting the Provo City Center Temple, I admired a painting entitled First Vision from Afar. The painting depicts the light and power from heaven as the Father and Son visited the young Joseph Smith."

I just love this painting!  

So I decided to do some detective work.  I found that the artist was

Michael Albrechtsen and I learned this about him from his website:

"Michael Albrechtsen is a talented landscape and figure painter.   He strives to capture the drama and emotions from the images of his experiences and memories of his travels.   He enhances this drama with skillful handling of color and light. Michael teaches his students to paint what they see in that first six seconds.  When one can paint what they see in that brief first look at something they are able to capture the freshness of the view.  One decides right away if it's beautiful.  It's an initial reaction.  You're drawn to the drama of it.

Michael also tries to apply that six second test to his own creations.  Michael's paintings have a vivid, richness that few painters are able to achieve."

I thought I would love to have a print of this painting but alas, there are none available.  It seems like it is the same thing with another painting that I would love to have a copy of and have no picture to show.

In our Sacramento Temple there is a beautiful painting of the area around the American River.  Dan and I have both admired it and wondered if we could purchase a print of it.   I did some detective work on that and discovered that the artist, Valoy Eaton,* painted it for our temple and that it is one of a kind and no prints are available.  I have a feeling that it is the same with the painting from the Provo City Center Temple.

Conclusion:  Keep going to the temple.  Among other things, the artwork is inspiring!

*from his website: "Valoy Eaton paints quiet subjects with a universal message - a message of truth, life and light. He believes that some of the most profound subjects are found in everyday occurrences when living close to nature.  Valoy is an artist who looks at life and responds with paint and brushes. His work is motivated by a reverence for nature and the human condition. He has a strong appreciation for light and space, shapes and colors."