“I don’t see my art as something distinct and different from life. My art is nothing more than a reflection of who I really am as a person- what I value, believe, and experience. I paint because I have too inside. And then it turns out that something public is happening -lives are being touched by my art. In a way I have to ignore that. As an artist I must continue to reach deep inside myself to experience life and to discover and bring to life on canvas or whatever medium I choose to work with the private inner daydreams we all share. I’ve gotten a lot of happiness from my art and from the fact that what I’ve created has brought joy to others. I can recall as a kid, when I first realized that a two-dimensional piece of paper could look like a world of space when I saw my uncle Max, sketch a portrait with pastel chalk.”
“Not only did I realize that I could reproduce what 1 saw in three-dimension but I had the freedom to change that world any way I wanted by taking things out and adding others in. This unlocked for me one of the basic keys of my drawings and paintings, another important thing that played a role in my art was reading a lot of books about master painters and seeing their paintings. It opened a new world to me because I learned new techniques, by changing certain aspects of a scene I could greatly increase the painting’s dramatic impact, creating something that is both of this world and also a world unto itself. I want to create art that will bless people. Light generates so much hope in the individual. People who are deprived of sunlight for an extended period often become very depressed. I’ve often thought of light as a spiritual dimension, and it is interesting to me as a Christian that light is one of the most consistent metaphors throughout Scripture. Christ himself said He was the light of the world, and the first thing God created was light. It’s also a great symbol for the life of the believer – we are told to let our light shine before others. The Truth is represented as light. It’s something that goes out and opens up people’s darkness. For me as an artist, light has so many planes of meaning, not the least of which is that it’s so emotionally warm. When I begin most of my paintings I start by painting the whole thing solid black. It is then that I can capture the light. It continues to get brighter as I begin to paint layer upon layer of paint until I’m able to give the illusion that the painting is glowing. When the painting is completed, all the layers have been woven together like a tapestry. All you see is the painting not the way it was painted.” – John Saenz
“I don’t paint emotionally neutral paintings. My greatest interest as an artist is in subtly shaping the world through my own romantic vision. After all, my favorite artist are the ones who did just that-create their own worlds of hope and joy”