A Testimony About Myself and My Art
by Steven Prewitt

My views of my artistic creativity and my expression of it are formed in my spirit-to-Spirit relationship with Jesus Christ-my human spirit joined to God’s Holy Spirit in me doing his living/expressing through me.

I became joined to the Holy Spirit of God’s trinity by believing I was a sinner separated from God because of my sins, that Jesus Christ is God’s Son who died on a cross as payment for my sins, and that the Holy Spirit is now alive in me and will forever be joined to my human spirit.

In my youth, I attended a Presbyterian Church, its private day school, and summer day camp where I was taught the sound biblical doctrine of salvation and principles for living. My need for salvation came from my fear of what I was taught Hell was like. I remember my interpretation of Hell as being dark, yet fire, burning red hot, and disfigured people screaming, crying, fighting, and wandering to and fro in the flames forever. That internal vision movie was what motivated me at an early age to go to my mom for relief. She comforted me and reaffirmed who Jesus is and His power to save me from Hell. She led me through the sinner’s prayer to save me from that Hell.
 
Later, as a young adult considering different career choices, I had my parents’ support when I expressed my interest in art. My first serious thought of art as a career choice came while attending the University of Mississippi after I had tried many other areas of study, including liberal arts, pre-med and general business. Upon entering my third year; I took freshman level art classes. During spring semester that year, I heard about a couple of private professional art schools I was interested in attending. With my parents’ leadership, I left the university, moved back into my parents’ home to take classes at Mississippi Baptist College, and applied for entry into all the private art schools I knew of.

My first personal test of faith came on February 9, 1985 when I had tediously completed four different application processes to my first four art school choices. (I thought that I would apply to four schools at a time until I was accepted to one.) As I approached the mailbox to drop the envelopes, I took several minutes to pause and consider God’s meaning in my life.

In very simple terms, I said a faith statement that I still rely upon today. God is all knowing, He loves me and He knows what is best for me. If art school was not His plan for me, He had a better direction than I knew of. I also believed that though being accepted to and attending art school was a desire of mine, I did not know if that was God’s plan for my life. I was doing my part to make it happen by completing the applications. The rest was up to God. He had control of the final outcome. If He wanted Christ-Steven to be in art school, then the avenues to get me there would be opened by Him; all I had to do was walk by faith through them.

I had an excited feeling of anticipation and lots of anxiety at the same time. I wanted progress, but knew I would be starting over in my studies because my art credits would not transfer. Therefore, if I did attend art school, I would take seven years to complete college (four years at the university and three more at art school).

I sent four application packets that February 9, and by the end of March, I had been accepted to all four schools! What confirmation from God; not only had I been accepted, but also I had a choice as to which I would attend. I chose the Ringling School of Art and Design because it was in the South, and it was not in a big metro city like Chicago, Boston, or Atlanta where the other schools were located.

The Ringling curriculum was intense–long hours and serious work. I remember saying to myself that Christ is in me to live His life in me. What I (Christ/I) am doing is going to art school to study art. I (Christ/I) worked hard and excelled while at Ringling, receiving many confirmations, both internal and external, of my faith and efforts. After Ringling, I built upon the same faith base as I ventured out of school into the professional world. I bought and opened my own T-shirt design and printing shop, completed several commissioned fine art mixed media paintings for many clients, and traveled throughout the southeastern United States to various juried fine art fairs to sell my paintings.

As my artistic styles have evolved over the past fifteen years, my expression of Christ in art sometimes, but not always, falls into the conventional category of Christian Art because of obvious Christian symbolism. Whether or not my art is Christian in symbolic language, it is Christian just by the very nature of Christ living and expressing Himself in me and in my work. Though I do not consistently use Christian symbolism as an obligation, I do believe it is necessary to create art that is positive and uplifting with a consciousness of Christ living in me, expressing Himself through me.

The living Holy Spirit of God’s trinity who lives in me joined to my own human spirit (1 Corin. 6:17) influences all aspects of my life. My creative expression in visual art cannot be separated from His influence; therefore, regardless of my imagery and execution of it, Christ is the underpinning of my art and my life.