|
|
Dear Friends.
Many of you have visited the web site, The Art of Divine Mercy featuring
original artwork produced by myself, Tommy Canning. This web site has
been online since 1998. On the site I have had many of my paintings
available to buy as prints. Since my early 20s up to the present, I have
been committed to creating new and hopefully beautiful and edifying
works of Sacred Art that reveal some of the richness and compassion of
God's Mercy. Now I am making available for the first time some of those
original works of art and a once in lifetime opportunity to own some
rare and stunning creations with God's gift of art(even though I say so
myself) from one of the great artists the Catholic Church never had.
This messsage is both an announcement and an appeal.
As economic markets plummet the world over and huge bail out initiatives
of unimaginable sums of money are announced, I thought I may as well get
in on the act and announce my own personal bail out scheme. Can you
think of a more deserving cause, right? After all, desperate times
require desperate measures, and as a starving artist, well it can't get
more desperate than that eh?, so here goes.
I first entered online to the world wide web in 1998, after a time, I
realised that it was very difficult to generate funds and sell prints
etc via the web site for an artist. Unless you have the sales potential
of an organisation like Amazon or ebay, or massive audiences for
advertising like Yahoo and Google, the market potential is very small,
and even more so for Catholic Sacred Art which by its very nature in a
secular environment, potential is always smaller in comparison. I am a
one man operation with no employees or staff to find wages for, every
penny that I earn through print sales or commissions or donations, helps
me directly to continue this work. I do not run a non profit charity
with this work, it is my main and sometimes only source of income. So
needless to say I have depended largely on donations and commissions to
survive as an artist with varying degrees of success over the years, but
more than once have had to seek other employment and income to help
through the lean times. This is what has influenced me in recent times
in large part to sell some very important works of art I've produced
that have very personal attachment and sentimental value to myself for
many reasons.
So, this is where I appeal to you for help, you may or may not be able
to buy one of these originals now available, but you may know someone
who could be. It may even be a group or religious order or possibly
donated to an art gallery, or simply a place of honour in the family
home.. The possibilities are many. If you value the work and commitment
I have given to promoting good new Sacred Art over the years, to bring
the presence of Christ and make Him visible in this world of ours
through the medium of art, then please consider this appeal and/or
forward it if it would be any use to others. Donations or sale of these
originals will help me continue into the future, God willing, or maybe
for a little while longer at least. I think it is an extremely important
apostolate for our culture in these times, and one that has benefited so
many people over the years, but like so many good Catholic apostolates
depends on the generosity and like minded vision of many good people
like you. Without the generosity of individuals or groups down the
years, I probably would not be still producing works and have prints
available. So I am making this general appeal to someone out there who
may be able to help in some small way by making a contribution or buying
one of the originals that are on sale. With your help it will impact my
ability to continue with my art work beyond this present time in a very
practical way, and you are making a valuable contribution to the renewal
of culture and Sacred Art's place in that culture, bringing beauty and
faith where it is often absent and lacking. Lastly I ask for your
prayers, for the sometimes uncertain road and challenges ahead. Please
be merciful and seriously consider helping an artist in need. |
