It’s taken more than a decade of leaps of faith, frugal living, earnest prayer and hard work, but things are working out for artist J. Kirk Richards.
The soon-to-be 39-year-old Provo native and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has quietly and steadily carved out a full-time art career despite being a one-time college dropout, having long stretches when his work didn’t sell and focusing on Christian imagery, a subject some in the art world don’t find interesting.
“We have been blessed to see a lot of amazing miracles and great things happen,” Richards said while seated in his basement studio, surrounded by large murals and small frames of artwork, with swarms of children playing loudly in the next room. “We planted a seed, nourished it, and it has grown. I’m amazed at how many people I’ve been able to connect with because of my artwork over the last 15 years.”
While most of his work resides in private collections around the country, Richards has contributed to exhibits at the BYU Museum of Art, published books, had art appear in the LDS Church magazines and been featured in many other venues. His unique impressionist style has also been recognized with numerous awards, according to the biography on his website, jkirkrichards.com.
In an interview with the Deseret News, the artist discussed his career path and passion for religious/spiritual contemporary art.