Perfect Harmony in Art

Harmony has been defined as "a pleasing combination of elements as a whole".  It is something we all strive to accomplish in our lives ... may it be harmony with others or harmony within ourselves; we all seek to find that pleasing combination in all that we do in life.  I believe my father, Al Sprague, has found that pleasing combination in his world of art.

Pollera Oil painted in 2013

In the Beginning, my very first Blog entry,  I told the story of how my father discovered his talent and love for art.  After getting in trouble and not really knowing which way to go with his life, my grandmother, Josephine Sprague, sent him out with paint, a canvas, and an easel and told him not to return until he had completed a painting.  It was at this moment that my father discovered his passion for art but it would take years of painting, drawing, and sculpting to find and create harmony in his world.

Watercolor painted in 1969

My father describes art as something he has to do, it's almost like an addiction - He sees and he wants to create. There is rarely a day that goes by that he is not creating something.  Granted, sometimes it may be fishing lures or decorative rocks, but creating is just part of who he is.  It gives him a sense of wholeness; a sense of being; it is his harmony.

Bahamian Oil painted in 2008

Life hasn't always been easy for my father.  He has struggled with much in his lifetime.  Like many artists, he has  struggled with alcoholism and depression, but one thing has remained consistent - his love for art.

We, as admirers of his God-given talent, are the lucky ones.  We get to experience harmony by viewing his creations.  Viewing his work is like hearing a beautiful symphony playing on canvas. The colors, the composition, the light all play together and create a perfect snapshot of harmony.

I, though take it one step further - I see each piece of his work as a building block to creating harmony in my father as an individual.  It is the combination of his life creations that has made him into the artist we all know and love - a person who has found harmony in himself through the world of art.