Meet California-Based Artist Lawrence Klimecki

LAWRENCE KLIMECKI is an Orangevale, California-based artist working in visual art, painting, illustration, graphic design, and iconography. (www.DeaconLawrence.org)

CATHOLIC ARTIST CONNECTION (CAC): Where are you from originally?

LAWRENCE KLIMECKI (LK): I am a native Californian, living in and around the Sacramento area.

CAC: What do you see as your personal mission as a Catholic working in the arts?

LK: I see myself as a Catholic with the gift of artistic ability. Artistic ability is simply one gift among many given to the baptized and confirmed to carry out the Great Commission of evangelizing the world. My personal mission is to use my gifts to bring people closer to God and to encourage other artists to do the same.

CAC: Where have you found support in the Church for your vocation as an artist?

LK: The writings of Pope Saint John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI have certainly supported the contribution the arts have made over the centuries. Their writings have helped me to focus on the true purpose for the gifts I have been given.

CAC: Where have you found support among your fellow artists for your Catholic faith?

LK: As I focus primarily on liturgical and sacred art, I tend to associate with other Catholic artists working in the same vein. So support of my Catholic faith is never really an issue. However, part of my ministry as a deacon is to reach out to other artists and support and encourage them in their work and in their faith.

CAC: How can the Church be more welcoming to artists?

LK: There seems to be far more artists than there are large commissions for them. Nevertheless, I think the church can support artists on the parish level by commissioning new original work and by offering spaces, such as parish halls, to allow the artists to showcase their work.

CAC: How can the artistic world be more welcoming to artists of faith?

LK: I think this would require a fundamental shift in how art is viewed by the “artistic world.” In our post-enlightenment age, art is typically viewed as the means by which the artist “finds him(or her)self.” It is all about individual artistic expression and “art for art’s sake.” True artists of faith understand that their purpose is to serve their brothers and sisters rather than themselves. For the artistic world to be more welcoming  to artists of faith, it must understand this basic, older, view of the purpose of art.

CAC: Where in the Orangevale/Sacramento area do you regularly find spiritual fulfillment?

LK: As a deacon I serve at my parish, The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Sacramento, California. We work very hard to make our liturgies as beautiful and reverent as possible and are frequently complimented on those aspects of our liturgy by visitors. The Mass is my strength and spiritual fulfillment. Everything flows from the altar. The sacramental life of our parish is constantly growing deeper and richer.

CAC: Where do you go to get inspired?

LK: Visual artists by nature are a somewhat solitary lot, sacred artists even more so, as there are not enough of us around to form groups or collectives. Sacramento, however does have a number of beautiful churches full of inspiring art.

CAC: How have you found or built community as a Catholic artist in your city?

LK: We have made various efforts to form a group of Catholic artists but due to a variety of factors they tend to dissolve after a short period of time. I have had more success developing an online community at deaconlawrence.org, writing articles for my blog to inspire and guide artists spiritually.

CAC: What is your daily spiritual practice?

LK: My daily spiritual practice is not related specifically to the arts. I recite morning, evening, and night prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours and spend a great deal of time reflecting on the spirituality of the artist in the articles I write. 

CAC: What is your daily artistic practice? And what are your recommendations to other artists for practicing their craft daily?

LK: I try to draw every day, although this is not always possible given my diaconal ministry. I am also constantly learning from the work of other artists. I would recommend setting some time aside each day to devote to your art and always continue to learn from others.

CAC: Describe a recent day in which you were most completely living out your vocation as an artist.

LK: I occasionally have the rare day wherein there are no other demands on my time, and I am able to stay in the studio and work. I have recently been exploring graphite as a medium. It allows me to work quickly, is very forgiving when corrections need to be made, and offers deceptively rich results. And so a day of completely living out my vocation as an artist is a day in which I can work uninterrupted on a piece that comes close to the image in my mind. The closer I can realize my inspiration in graphite and paper, the more joy I feel in the result.

CAC: How do you financially support yourself as an artist?

LK: I am fortunate in being able to support myself and contribute to the support of my family through commissions and the sale of prints. I have tried several print-on-demand sites and currently work with Fine Art America. The drawback there is that you cannot collect emails from your buyers. I try to mitigate that by pointing buyers to my website to signup for newsletters. I am somewhat limited by having to do all my marketing and job search online, I am still working out a repeatable process for this. Actual jobs for sacred art are few and far between. Building an email list of fans and followers is far more effective.

CAC: What are your top 3 pieces of advice for Catholic artists post-graduation?

LK: Realize that your gifts are not about you. You are here to serve others. Spend as much time as necessary to discern your true calling and the proper use of your gifts.