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Description
"Renewed Faith" for Magic the Gathering.

This is pretty much as close as I get to religious art. I've always figured that if at some point, everyone spontaneously stops caring about my work, and stops hiring me, I'd decide between the two "dark sides" of making a ridiculous amount of money as an artist: Religious art, or fan-art porn. And I have to be honest, I'm much more inclined toward the latter. I grew up in the very preachy environment of Hypermormonville, UT, and my skin burns anytime I'm within a hundred yards of a church of any kind. That's not to say I don't appreciate that religion has it's place - it's just not for me. Like skydiving isn't for fish, veganism isn't for tigers, and blacksmithing isn't for hummingbirds. But there is something about a GOOD religious painting. Which are few, and far-between. They're like 1/1000, because holy Xenu there's a lot of cut-and-paste turbo-generic Jesus paintings out there. But a good religious painting can pull at something in us. Connect us to something. And that's what I was going for in this piece. That sense of being intimately connected to a higher power. A higher power like a good whiskey, or a really great movie, or a dripping mountain of fresh donuts.

For Magic the Gathering, Dominaria. Copyright Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro.

Shot on location at Stained Glass and Altered States Spiritual Escape Rooms, Inc. "It's not drug abuse if it's a religious experience!"

No stained glass was harmed in the production of this painting, as per the request of Westley "the Dread Pirate Roberts."

More of my work and info at: www.steveargyle.com

Description
"Renewed Faith" for Magic the Gathering.

This is pretty much as close as I get to religious art. I've always figured that if at some point, everyone spontaneously stops caring about my work, and stops hiring me, I'd decide between the two "dark sides" of making a ridiculous amount of money as an artist: Religious art, or fan-art porn. And I have to be honest, I'm much more inclined toward the latter. I grew up in the very preachy environment of Hypermormonville, UT, and my skin burns anytime I'm within a hundred yards of a church of any kind. That's not to say I don't appreciate that religion has it's place - it's just not for me. Like skydiving isn't for fish, veganism isn't for tigers, and blacksmithing isn't for hummingbirds. But there is something about a GOOD religious painting. Which are few, and far-between. They're like 1/1000, because holy Xenu there's a lot of cut-and-paste turbo-generic Jesus paintings out there. But a good religious painting can pull at something in us. Connect us to something. And that's what I was going for in this piece. That sense of being intimately connected to a higher power. A higher power like a good whiskey, or a really great movie, or a dripping mountain of fresh donuts.

For Magic the Gathering, Dominaria. Copyright Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro.

Shot on location at Stained Glass and Altered States Spiritual Escape Rooms, Inc. "It's not drug abuse if it's a religious experience!"

No stained glass was harmed in the production of this painting, as per the request of Westley "the Dread Pirate Roberts."

More of my work and info at: www.steveargyle.com