Chamber Inspiration Luncheon Featuring Artist Del Parson

The Turning Point
The moment when an artist realizes their artistic passion must also become their business passion in order to survive and thrive as an artist.
 
It takes more than talent to become a world-class painter.  It takes an appreciation and dedication of the business and marketing side of the art.  During next Wednesday’s Inspiration Luncheon, world renowned painter Del Parson will take us on his own personal journey of how he discovered and practiced his business discipline as well as his artistic drive for giving the world some of it’s most beloved works of art. 
 
Del is not only a world famous painter best known for his religious subjects but is also a highly admired and inspired teacher at Dixie State University. He feels a great responsibility for educating his students that their art alone is not enough to achieve fame and success.  But that the artist must simultaneously understand and practice the art of business in order to create a living for themselves and their work. You will be touched and inspired by his personal journey as an artist and businessman.  

Del Parson grew up in Rexburg, Idaho where his father was an art professor at Ricks College and his mother taught second grade. His father often took his nine children on painting excursion campouts. He found his father’s love of art to be contagious, as did two of his brothers, who became artists as well.

After earning his MFA from Brigham Young University, Parson became a gallery and portrait artist. In 1978, a tragedy changed his life. His wife and daughter were killed in a car accident. He felt the Spirit of God helping him through the tough times and began to paint religious subjects to give others the sense of hope that he found and to share with them his love of life.

Often he will visualize ideas for paintings. After making a list, one idea will stand out more strongly than the others. Like any creative endeavor, painting is hard work, and a major oil painting can take at least a month to complete.

“When you feel inspired,” says Parson, “a painting takes on a life of its own. When that happens, the experience is pure joy. It is moments like these that an artist loves best.”

Parson now lives in Utah with his wife and six children. His paintings of Christ evoke a strong emotional response from viewers, and both his religious and historical paintings have received numerous regional and national awards. Parson’s work has been exhibited at the Allied Artists of America, National Academy of Design, Knickerbocker Artist, American Artists Professional League, and the Amarillo Rotary Show.