Several questions came up this week, several from Debbye, who has inspired other blogs with her comments and questions.

Q -  Debbye wanted to know if someone could use the method of painting the Bible with letters in their native language. In this case the language is Greek and so some of the texts might be from the Christian Testament . The artist who Debbye knows is hoping I will teach my method.

A -Certainly, I will be teaching my methods to artists. I am hoping do hold at least one class within the next year or so.

However, the theory of UnGraven Image art uses the Hebrew letters to symbolically represent the smallest essential pre-particles of the physical universe, which elementary physics calls wave like motions, strings and/or membranes.

That the Hebrew letters that God speaks to create the world in the first chapter of Genesis symbolically represent the smallest essential beginning of matter and the universe is theology that is held by all denominations of Christianity, Protestant, Evangelical, Catholic and Orthodox. It is theology held by all branches of Judaism. Aside from Genesis , it is specifically mentioned in the Jewish oral tradition (thus it was certainly known to Jesus the disciples) now known as the Talmud , it is in all forms of the Kabala and can be found in Christian and Jewish theological texts. In fact, it is even mentioned in the Koran.

When God said, “Let there be light…” it was said in Hebrew. Genesis is an ancient text that was originally written in Hebrew. In fact, the entire Hebrew Bible was written in Hebrew, it was not translated from another language into Hebrew. There is no dispute over that. That important religious texts were written in Hebrew, even those not in the Bible is shown by recent archeological discoveries, such as he Dead Sea Scrolls . The scrolls has had both Christians and Jews working often together to translate them. There are Christians who are scholars of ancient Hebrew. Think about the various Christian translations of the Bible into English – even back at the time of King James there were Christian scholars who knew Hebrew.

So the theology that the strokes of UnGraven Image art is based on must be Hebrew. Certainly, one could paint using the words (letters) of the Bible from any language as the strokes. However, that form of painting might be interesting but it would not be theologically supported. God did not create the world by speaking Greek, Aramaic, English, French, Swahili, Chinese or any of the many languages that have translations of the Bible .

Q . The next question, also from Debbye, is what if someone doesn't know Hebrew, how can they paint the UnGraven Image way?

A. First place, I am struggling to learn to speak Hebrew. I can read Hebrew because it is a phonetic language and once one masters the sounds of the letters and the vowels, anyone can do a fair job of reading it aloud. I can pretty well read aloud, but that again does not mean I understand what I am reading.

There are 22 basic Hebrew letters. Some of the letters have an ending letter. This is kind of like using a capital of the letter as we do in English at the beginning of the word, only it comes at the end. The best example in English is the letter “y” since when it occurs at the end of a word, especially in handwriting or a signature, it is often flourished.

Basically one need only be familiar with the Hebrew letters, their shapes and how to write them, in order to copy out Biblical texts in Hebrew. I use the letters from the basic Torah font, which differs from other Hebrew fonts, especially the form used in handwriting. The Torah font is actually used in basic Jewish Hebrew Bibles. So those are the strokes. Torahs and Hebrew Bibles for people who know Hebrew do not have the new addition of the vowels (little dots and dashes usually found under the letters) so; I do not use them ever.

Word/Conceptual art uses letters as strokes and/or symbols. Do we consider a work of Word/Conceptual art less artistic if we cannot read the language it is painted with? Does the meaning exist apart from our ability to decipher it?

An artist does not need to speak or read Hebrew to use the letters from strokes. However, one does need to learn how to write the letters. Considering that preschoolers learn to write letters, it is an easy task for visual artists to master. Plus, as a reminder, there is always the Hebrew text from which one is copying one's strokes!

Q. Why don't I paint using the texts of the Christian or New Testament since it has been translated into Hebrew?

A. For me, the key word here is translated.

I have considered painting using various works that are translated into Hebrew. One of the key ones is the Constitution of the United States of America . The translation can be found on line at the web site of the USA Embassy to Israel; hence it is a translation that is approved by the American government itself. There are several paintings I would like to create for the new America, America series using the Constitution in Hebrew as the strokes.

However, based on the theology the theory of UnGraven Image is based upon, I don't think a painting that uses texts in Hebrew is anymore a UnGraven Image painting than one that uses words from the Bible in translation. I think this could be said to be a painting that is in a style similar to UnGraven Image, but it would not actually adhere to the theological theory of UnGraven Image.

One day archeologists may dig up a scroll that is original or close in time copy of the Book of James or a Gospel, maybe even the Sermon on the Mount, written in Hebrew. Throughout Jewish history priest and rabbis have delivered or written important messages or sermons in Hebrew. Often during the Diaspora the most important sermon, delivered before Passover, was delivered in Hebrew to a congregation that did not understand a word that was said. The people of Jesus' time spoke Aramaic on a daily basis but could speak Hebrew as well. Hebrew was reserved as a Holy language. Thus, I suspect that the Sermon on the Mount was delivered in Hebrew originally.

When and if archeologists unearth parts of the Christian Testament in Hebrew, painting with those texts as strokes would certainly have to be a part of UnGraven Image art as it follows the theory, especially for Christians.

Q - Does an artist have to pay me to paint using the original Bible texts in Hebrew (letters) as strokes and call it UnGraven Image?

A - No. I am founding a movement, and like Pissarro who founded Impressionism or Picasso and Braque who founded Cubism, I encourage other artists to paint using this theory.

Personally, I have always loved the work of the recognized masters of Impressionism; Monet, Renoir, Cassatt, Degas, etc. There are artists of that period who painted using the methods and theory of Impressionism who were just not very good artists, too. They were still Impressionists, just not very good ones.

There will be artists who paint using the theory of UnGraven Image who will soar and create magnificent work and there will be others who are just not very good artists and using the Hebrew letters from the Bible for every stroke is just not going to change that. Plus, we all have a bad day or a bad painting every now and then. So, I am only going to encourage artists who create art using the theory of UnGraven Image with respect for biblical principles and the Lord.

However – I am trademarking the name of UnGraven Image so legally I can control its use. I am not going to allow professional artists to use the name of UnGraven Image if they are not actually painting using the Hebrew letters from Old Testament texts for every stroke. Just don't use the name UnGraven Image unless the theory and theology is actually used.

I am not going to allow professional artists to use the name of UnGraven Image (even when following the painting theory) to create works that I hold as anti-God and the Ten Commandments, pornographic, racist, anti-Christian, anti-Jewish, anti-American (treasonous as opposed to an artistic protest) or anti-Israel (against the right of the State of Israel to exist). In time I hope to have the advice of noted clergy, both Christian and Jewish, who will advise me, although it seems to me fairly obvious and common sense.

Realize that I am not involved in censorship, just protecting a trademark and what it stands for from those who would want to usurp or change the character of it. Imagine how I would respond about a clearly Nazi propaganda painting (and the Nazis had propaganda paintings) that was touted as being a part of the UnGraven Image movement by a professional artist. Or imagine how I would respond to graphic child pornography painted using the theory of UnGraven Image and claiming to be a part of this movement...

Yep, I would defend the trademark. It's just common sense.