Video from 100Huntley
Popular Artist James Tughan Infuses Christian Faith in His Art
"James Tughan is a celebrated Canadian Watercolorist whose most recent series is entitled “The Nine Faces of Christ”. He shares about the inspiration behind his artwork and the trauma from the tragic loss of his son. James Tughan's career in fine art, editorial illustration, design consulting, and arts administration has spanned 30 years. His work is represented in major corporate and private collections throughout North America and has been published in many premiere publications such as Rolling Stone, Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, House and Garden, Saturday Night, Toronto Life, Canadian Business and Financial Post." from video introduction.
What the Polisher Sees: The Art of James Tughan
"DEAR JAMES: If you ever wondered who burned out the motor on the art department’s jigsaw, it was me. I hope you weren’t forced to pay for that. You’ve paid too much for the sins of others.
I was using the jigsaw to cut up the triptych I’d made for my final undergrad art show. I was halfway through saving the few living bits—the sections of drawing and collage that were working—when the jigsaw started smoking and died. I flew at the remaining parts in a fury, slashing months of work to jagged pieces with an industrial utility knife. Samantha tells me I was crying the whole time. All I knew was that I had to break the originals to make the kind of breakthrough you had talked about.
Art making often begins with a break, doesn’t it? The snap of bone or will from repeated abuse. A leaving or a throwing out. Exodus. Exile.
You begin your pivotal Dreaming of Lions series with a break. In What the Polishers Saw, as a window washer rappels from the absolute peak of a glass temple in a fantastical inland China, a building shaped like the keel of an upside-down ship, a pane of glass shatters beneath his mop.
I told you once that he looks like you, that polisher, and I couldn’t tell whether you were surprised or bemused. You’ve never been an easy read, you or your art.." from the article:
Read more from James Tughan on his blog