Sacred Art Ministry

In 2020, inspired by his childhood devotion to Mary, the mother of God, John Dumas created a beautiful, sophisticated series of contemporary images entitled “Mary Did You Know” in which he illustrates The Virgin Mary, The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, as well as The Madonna and Child. From these pieces John produced a limited edition of personally signed and numbered prints. He then donated these pieces to his Church for fundraising through both silent and live auctions. Each print raised thousands of dollars in support for numerous non profit Catholic organizations. This success and the gratitude for his God-given talent motivated John to expand his iconic art collection. He has set forth to depict patron saints of parishes throughout the nation accompanied by a limited edition of personally signed and numbered prints availble to acquire through the ministry for fundraising. Each high quality print is completed through a process called “Giclee” which ensures longevity and the preservation of the integrtity of the vivid colors and the bold defining lines that John uses in his art.

“We evangelize our environments when we display beautiful sacred art in our spaces. Thereby stimulating the senses without speaking a single word.” (Espinosa)

The artistic process begins with research into sacred art throughout history - focusing  primarily on iconic renaissance art throughout the golden age, and the vibrant stained glass designs found in cathedrals and churches. After collecting a variety of depictions of each subject, Dumas then translates the inspiration into his own sacred art style - bold, colorful, sensitive and translucent.

The art creation begins with simple line work that is kept as part of the final design. Using elements from each inspiration art piece, Dumas creates his own composition within the 8 x 10 format. The image then goes through a process of several redesigns and simplification until Dumas is satisfied with the final outcome.

Fine cotton fabric is prepared by securing on a soft surface and treated with water based paint products. The large piece of fabric is then divided into 8 x 10 rectangles which are then mounted onto the wood panels for painting.

Painting begins with pre-mixing all colors - ranging anywhere from twenty to fifty different hues. The paint finishes also vary, some are strongly die enhanced and others transparent in the attempt to achieve the intensity of stained glass, as well as opaque in a broad range of colors light to dark.

Once all colors are mixed, Dumas begins adding the outlines in a bold, dark line drawing. This style helps convey the contemporary feel of the piece and adds separation between each vibrant color. The charcoal sticks used are a very special type of hard charcoal Dumas prepares in order to achieve control over the piece’s line work. This approach inspires thoughts of the lead separations within stained glass windows in historic churches, chapels and cathedrals.

The piece is painted using the pre-mixed colors, and finished by adding warm and cool transparent white color overlays. These highlights are achieved by using a specially prepared wide, thin bristle, brush painting rays of light through single strokes. Finally, the highlighting is achieved through the use of pastels to add the last touch of color.

Then it is off to the printers, using the Giclee approach on the highest quality print paper. Giclee is a process that best duplicates the look and feeling of the original piece. This method has also been proven to enhance longevity of the art for over 200 years. 

The art is labeled with the name of each series. The limited edition art is signed and numbered in order to enhance their value.