I am just like you, what I do is only a small part of what I am.

What I do is create contemporary art. But the reasons for why I paint are very much a part of what I am. So let me establish this now, I consider myself a person of reason, though being “reasonable” has not come easily. After decades of personal struggle, I can now comfortably, and permanently declare, that I am godless. I know that there is no deity other than the wonder of life itself. I also know that, someday, all of humanity will share that understanding. We are entering the post theistic permanence, and I consider it a duty to, in some small way, lend a voice to it.

There is a comfort that comes from being finally free from the dictatorial religious instruction that dominated so much of life up until just recently. But there is also a certain sadness that comes with the loss of some of the life conventions that religion previously delivered. So much of what we’ve come to value as formal, beautiful, or traditional has been informed by centuries of religious adherence. The milestones by which we measure life, and the rituals that are built around those events are still highly influenced by religions. This is of course understandable considering the time, measured in millennia, that religions have held sway.

But a slow change has begun, an intellectual evolution that is based on reason, honest inquiry, and truth. It is the challenge of “practical religious replacement”; the searching out modes of living that are free of worship, dogmatic myth, and the promise of anything supernatural. I put it to you that finding and investigating all that can be deemed religious replacement will be the challenge of thinking people for generations to come. I believe it a duty to contribute to this next great wave of thought, to present clear thinking and make arguments that allow creative and constructive dialogue to begin. The inevitable results will be new definitions of joy, beauty, wonder and solace. In short, a redefining of humanity has begun.

And so it is with this challenge in mind that I will pursue my creative output. My art will be informed by my desire to find new ways of looking at all things. I will use painting and color, and I will use the written word. The themes I pursue will speak of art and beyond, and my chosen subjects matter will not always entertain. There will be topics that have an edge, and others that no doubt be confrontational. But that is the idea isn’t it… To create is to confront.

So I close where I began. What I do is create contemporary art. But the definition of “Art” is indeed broad, it is an adjective, not only a noun. And while I am something of a traditionalist when it come to painting, I will not subject my definition of art, or living, to the dogmatic restrictions of history. Time to paint…
MJS   2/16/2016

Basic Bio Facts:

DOB: 11/19/1959
Born, Raised and Resides in Morristown, NJ  USA
Education: Villanova University, 1981  Economics/Religious Studies.
Primary Career: Self Employed as a Non-Broadcast Video Production Technician. Avocation: Rugby (Player, Coach, Referee). Married to Jane since 1993. Three Amazing Children.
Years active as Artist 1980-1988, 2014-present