I consider myself to be a man from the Renaissance

Artwork by Christopher Benatar

I like to think of myself as a renaissance-man.
I consider myself to be a man from the Renaissance. I write novels, sing, and make music in addition to painting and sculpting. The arts are as close to the height of intellectual stimulation as I can discover, and my busy mind is always looking for new challenges.

Indeed, I find that engaging in artistic endeavors brings me great delight and soul fulfillment, so it’s not just cerebral stimulation that I enjoy in it. First of all, I believe that the most rewarding human endeavor is the creation of beauty; one could even argue that this is the closest one can go to the Gods without earning their wrath. However, secondly, art is where one communicates with the Gods—certainly, I feel as though I am channeling the Divine when I paint, just as the well-known figure on the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

I want, no, I really need, to study in the Old Masters academy course because I have never before seen such a thorough and understandable explanation of the methods that have allowed artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo, Constable, van Dyck, and others to remain so vivid and beloved centuries after their return to the Divine.