Lawrenceville Artist has Evangelical Exhibit at Gwinnett Library

Lawrenceville artist Ralph B. Beach lives his life according to his own personal walk with God. He’s sharing that walk in the sketches he has on display at Grayson Library for the next month.

“I wanted to choose something that everybody would recognize,” Beach said. “These are faces that people see every day while flipping through channels.”

The exhibit contains eight well-known television evangelical preachers, such as Joel Osteen, drawn with pencil on large Stonehenge paper.  Beach has created what he calls “a spiritual scavenger hunt” to accompany the exhibit with hopes that it will inspire those viewing it to delve into their own relationship with Jesus. He said his work of late is a reflection of his spiritual journey and this was his way of expressing it. Beach said everything in his life reflects his faith, including his move from Massachusetts two years ago. His reason for doing so is simple.

“God told me to,” he said. “I questioned it – I’m mean it’s a big culture shock and I’m still getting used to it. But that was what it was – God.”

Beach moved his wife and two younger children – he has two older children from a previous marriage – to Georgia. He said his daughter, Candace, 7, has inherited his artistic talents, as has his older daughter.

“The boys in the family are more analytical,” Beach said. His youngest son, Carlisle, is 9.

For the Grayson Library exhibit, Beach has used pencil, but he said he works in several different mediums.

“I’m a bit of a renaissance man, everything is a new beginning,” Beach said. “I do water colors, sketch with pencil, pastels, charcoal, pen and ink, digital, traditional and non traditional. I also illustrate books, do logos, business cards – anything you want.”

Beach said he will take a photograph and transform it into a sketch or a painting if that is what somebody wants. According to his website, Beach is a self-taught artist who was born and raised in Boston, Ma. He does have a few years of structured university study under his belt, spending two years at Roxbury Community College. It was under the direct tutelage of the internationally known Master Artist Napoleon Jones- Henderson, concentrating on art of the African Diaspora. He also studied at Pratt Institute of Art and Design for a year.

Beach said he is very appreciative of the opportunity to display his work at the Grayson Library.

“The good thing is, they do it for all the libraries in the system,” he said. “When I leave here, I believe I go to Lilburn Library next.”

Although he has been in Gwinnett for two years, Beach is still trying to get his name out in local circles. He has a website www.ralphbeachart.com and a Facebook Page. He also is on twitter at Ralph Beach@beachman30017. Beach is inviting the community to view his work currently on display at the Grayson Library and on his website.