{"product_id":"faith-preceeds","title":"Faith Preceeds","description":"\u003cp\u003eOriginal Oil\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eby Calvin Close\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFramed Size: 13” x 20”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArtist Statement:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI am from Camarillo, California currently living in Salt Lake City, Utah for the past \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eseveral \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eyears. I grew up in a very creative family. My father, Donald Close was a double major in education\/art while\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e he\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e attended college\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e in San Bernardino, California.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI was first exposed to art in high school, but never thought I could make a living as an artist\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt wasn’t until I was married\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethat my wife and I would stroll through art galleries, and I would think to myself, “I could paint that.” It wasn’t until much later in my art career\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, that I learned it wasn’t that easy! One day while waiting in the dentist office, I came across a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eN\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eational Geographic magazine with the cover story \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003een\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003etitled, “The Copyist”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e which dramatically changed my desire to become an artist\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eInside there\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e was \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ean \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003earticle describing\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e how artists would go to the Louv\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003er\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ee in Paris, set up their easels and copy the masters\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Their aim was\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e to improve their painting technique and skill\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003es\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom then on, I would paint in my spare time in between work and remodeling our homes. This went on for many years, entering boutique shows trying to sell a painting here and there. Later\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e I realized that I could really benefit from taking some art classes from a local artist that I admired. My first class was from Bonnie \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePosselli\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. I lasted a day\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e;\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e embarrassingly spilling all my \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eturpentine on the floor during a full class! \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFast forward several years when I finally retired and decided to take up painting full time. I fell in love with sheep paintings I saw on Instagram from the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eartist \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTJ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCunningham. That’s when I \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003emade the best decision of my life by signing up for his art classes. His instruction has dramatically improved my skill and love\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e for oil painting!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMy dream is to one day travel again to Paris and Italy to paint plein\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e-air\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Calvin Close","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45698961998022,"sku":null,"price":950.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0261\/5685\/9471\/files\/1F6F9FFD-5BE3-4EC0-A300-79C372799179.jpg?v=1775679989","url":"https:\/\/thefoxshop.co\/products\/faith-preceeds","provider":"The Fox Shop and Market","version":"1.0","type":"link"}