Portrait of William Dyrness

This is a oil portrait that I did of my PhD mentor (i.e. Doktorvater), William Dyrness. It was a gift for him at my graduation in 2017. Bill has done a great deal of work in the role of the imagination and visual arts within the Reformed tradition. He was excited to be a part of my project in looking at the uniqueness of Luther's interaction with the visual arts and his visual way of speaking and thinking.

On my vicarage in 2008-2009, a member knew my interest in the visual arts and theology and gave me one of Bill's books: Visual Faith. Before that time, I didn't really think that further study was something that I would pursue. But it was this book that gave me my first view of the landscape and opened the door to more possibilities of bringing art and theology together. Little did I know that just over a year later, I would be working with him. Bill was a great mentor throughout my program. He artfully encouraged and challenged me through the process to a successful dissertation as I sought and continue to bring a distinctly Lutheran approach to the conversation. I created this portrait that captured the qualities of Bill in conversation.

Technically speaking, it was my first attempt at grisaille with glazes of color. This is a process where underpainting is done monochromatically. After drying, it is then followed by several thin glazes of color that is built up on the base colors. This effect gives a rich sense of depth to the painting as light interacts with the many different layers. Hence it is particularly good for skin tones as skin naturally has its own transparent qualities.