February 6, 2002 journal, 50 years on the throne, Trinity School art show rejection of my art. The Queen of England has set on the throne 50 years as of today reportedly. I will have more to say on this subject in the days ahead. As I entered the Forum at Piazza at Paces, I saw 2 of my paintings and then was told that my work was too violent for kids to see. I immediately asked what was violent and was told that the word abortion is violent. I answered, I agree that abortion is violent but I only used the word and not a scene of violence being committed. I ask if they were a Christian school and was told that they are independent but later learned that they began under the Trinity Presbyterian Church on North Side Blvd. in Atlanta. They had accepted all 15 paintings on Saturday without exception for showing during this week but then scrapped all but two saying they wanted the show to be a happy one. There was plenty of paintings on snakes and nudes, if you call that happy. They showed my tree of life and that's a happy one if one is connected to God Almighty in the right way to get the flow and enjoy the fruits and living water. The bust of the Native American lady they also showed with her praying hands that is not really a happy one but a warm one that everyone seems to like. In further conversation, I asked to get their rejection in writing but that did not set very well. I was told by the curators that she objected to the graveyard in my painting of the turkey with five heads entitled “don't be a turkey” to the 5 white killers in our diet as sugar, flour, fat, milk and table salt. In my letter to her today I have stated to her that she has missed the entire message in my art in order to be socially acceptable. I now quote from the letter. "I am trying to put what you said about my art in perspective, this is best done in writing. You have failed to understand what my art is all about. I am not looking for fortune or fame, my work is shown from coast to coast and overseas. I have my place in the secular art world for the art itself. Art has become a ministry for me, its not of my own choosing. The sugar baby group may not be happy but people laugh when they see it. I have very carefully considered your explanations and find them inconsistent. I do understand that you do not wish to make any statement that may not be socially acceptable. If you read the 17th chapter of the book Revelation, you will see our situation today with the church and the Christian schools for that matter, compromised with the world and the Antichrist. Every artist makes some statement in every painting. God is raining down judgment on us because we are not willing to face the facts or speak the truth. It seems a disclaimer would have been in order. You accepted 15 paintings to show in the show and I expected to see them in one group. When you distort them they lose their meaning. The remarks from people when going into the folk art area was less than complimentary. If Van Gogh were living today and not popular, he may have been put in the same category. The professional art world refers to my work as outsider and visionary, they never call it folk. It does not matter about me, I am sorry you are so concerned. I am painting for a bigger picture and I have done my job, what you do with it is your choice. Obviously, you do not need my art work in your show. I am used to being rejected by the Church or Christian schools for that matter, although the way this was handled is not fair to me, it is a form of persecution. Anytime one promotes the Bible or the truth they are persecuted automatically. It is also a form of discrimination. I painted Howard Finster in the exact way that he preached it and painted in his life. It seems to me that you have no problem showing poison snakes to the children but refuse to show art that may confront modern health problems and point out the ultimate result. Take your children to most any church and they will see graveyards.