I get chills thinking of artist Albin Veselka an art professor from BYU Idaho. After explaining the project he said you are never going to believe this but I have been doing everything I know how for the last six weeks to prepare for this project. You see my family came from Czechoslovakia to this country for freedom. About six weeks ago I was studying Alphonse Mucha, a great Czechoslovakian painter who raised that whole nation through a series of paintings called the slav epic. These great paintings were created just prior to WWII. Alphonse was one of the first Czechs arrested by the Gestopo and of course they had no use for a great patriot or paintings creating a sense of national unity. The paintings were secured away and Alphonse died shortly after as a result of Gestapo treatment. He never knew in this life the meaning his painting would have to his nation. The communists likewise locked the works up for an additional 25 years. When they finally became available they helped re-establishing national identity. As Albin studied these great painting a spiritual prompting came that he was going to be involved in something equally important for America. Over the phone I could feel Albin in an emotional and spiritual moment.
Born in 1979 Albin’s interest in art came at an early age. He is very grateful to his parents who were instrumental in promoting his emerging talent.
In 2006 Albin received his BFA from Brigham Young University Idaho. He credits the knowledgeable and student oriented faculty of the BYUI art department for giving him “the tools all representational artists must have to open the door to communicating in the visual arts”. Direction was also given to Albin which helped him break into the gallery scene while he was a college student. Since then Albin has continued in developing his career receiving honors from several prestigious organizations and shows.
Albin’s career has been a continual learning experience. His growth comes natural as he seeks for excellence through education and hard work. He is constantly finding new things to appreciate in the masters both living and deceased. Some of the influences he credits for his inspiration and development are Nicolai Fechin, John Singer Sargent, Abram Arkhipov, Ilha Repin, Richard Schmid, Dan Gerhartz, Mike Malm, Carolyn Anderson, Gerald Griffin and Leon Parson.
Albin’s Own Words…
"When Farley Anderson introduced me to the Covenant America Project I was already in the process of developing the work that I would contribute to it. I have always had a great interest in and strong feelings about the principles that founded our great nation. It doesn’t take a lot of digging to see how unique and pivotal America’s founding, development and preservation are to the destiny of freedom and prosperity for the whole human race. And underlying it all there is a foundation upon which America and its principles rest. That foundation is a firm belief in a loving and all powerful Heavenly Father who defines natural law and gives mankind the responsibility to act according to the principles He set forth in self-government.
In accordance with God’s law men are free agents to do as their conscience dictates. Government is an extension of man’s right to preserve life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (or property). Government, today, has grown into a bloated, arbitrary power wielding, self perpetuating behemoth. It has divorced itself from its founding God fearing principles. There are countless grievances that if addressed individually would only be replaced with others. This is because they are all only symptoms to the underlying problem. America can only be saved by returning to the one principle that made her creation possible. God created America through man’s willingness to accept His law, live by His principles and allow all men the same privilege. The moment we renounce our connection with, dependence upon and responsibility to God and his natural law we lose the ability to self-govern. The Covenant America Project reminds America of this principle by restoring the Declaration of Independence to its natural place as the founding document to be considered along side the Constitution as the supreme law of the land.
Our country stopped its march into the future God intended for it with every step it took away from Him. It is my prayer that America wakes up to its roots and continues its forward march. We have seen the destruction caused by statism and so-called progressivism. They are nothing but a new brand of the countlessly repeated descents into tyranny and destruction that we’ve seen throughout history. Let’s wake up, accept God’s natural law and our responsibility to self-rule. I hope my artwork contribution to the Covenant America Project does whatever small part it can to help convey this message."
Here is his Website-http://albinveselka.com/
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