Glorify God in art
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Most of Jeffrey Hein's biblical paintings appear driven by the gospel principle trio of forgiveness, gratitude and healing.
The LDS artist can claim ownership of each. Brother Hein's human. He's quick to admit he's made a few mistakes, turned to prayer and asked God for forgiveness.
He simply conjures the images of his twin toddlers and his bout with cancer and other life-threatening ailments to paint credibly on gratitude and healing.
Such principles breathe life into his spiritual portraits — splicing them with paint and brush to lock the intimacy and emotion of, say, Christ healing the blind or raising the daughter of Jairus.
"I have a desire to glorify God" through art, he says simply.
Only 30, Brother Hein is enjoying success few would have imagined from a painter who dropped out of his one and only high school art class. He grew up in New York's Hudson Valley, knowing he had an artist's touch though he rarely even sketched. He never dabbled with a paint and brush until college. He was a shy, undisciplined kid.
Still, "I knew I was going to be an artist," said Brother Hein, who now calls Salt Lake City home. "It was like I didn't have a choice."
Brother Hein's high school could sometimes be rough. He learned early that the Church offered spiritual sanctuary from a troubled world. Going from the school week to Church service on weekends "was like walking out of darkness into light," said Brother Hein, who was typically the only Mormon in his school.
After high school Jeffrey enrolled in Ricks College and his first art class. "I realized I was far ahead of anyone there."
Under the critical tutelage of his instructor, Gerald Griffin, Jeffrey developed rapidly as he combined his natural talent with refined technique. His desire to earn a living as an artist remained, though a career in illustration seemed the best choice at the time.
Jeffrey had longed planned to serve a mission. But by the time he reached missionary age, the young art student wondered if his talent would be lost during two years of full-time service. His parents, William and Dale Hein, assured their son that the Lord would sustain any of his worthwhile talents. He accepted a mission call to Utah but struggled during his time in the Missionary Training Center. He considered going home. He prayed for spiritual confirmation to know he should continue his mission. Then President Howard W. Hunter visited the center. The Church leader's mere presence as he walked through the doors into the hall where the missionaries were gathered was enough to persuade Elder Hein to remain in the field.
Brother Hein calls his mission an "invaluable experience," working along Utah's Wasatch Front. Unlike many missions, most of Elder Hein's contacts knew something about the Church, forcing him to keep his spiritual wits sharp as he and his companions taught the gospel.
Life for the would-be artist turned sharply 21 months into his mission. He was diagnosed with cancer and was forced to return home to New York. Over the next year, he endured nine surgeries and six months of chemotherapy. He was eventually cleared of the cancer, but other health problems arose. Doctors had to remove much of his intestines. At one point, the six-foot-tall man's weight dipped to 119 pounds. He was too weak to stand.
"It was scary, but I had a pretty positive attitude," Brother Hein recalled. Priesthood blessings and the constant support of his family helped illuminate the dark days.
About a year after leaving the mission field, he was visited at his home by Jennifer Davis, a fellow New Yorker who had also served a mission to Salt Lake City. The two friends enjoyed an atypical courtship as he convalesced and were soon married in the Bountiful Utah Temple.
The newlyweds remained in Utah and moved into the basement apartment of an art-loving family Brother Hein had met on his mission. Instead of paying rent, Brother Hein earned his keep by performing odd jobs and repairs around the house. Soon he was offering his "handy man" skills outside the home — building furniture, doing a little plumbing and, along the way, developing the business acumen that would serve him well when he began painting full time.
He continued his art studies at the University of Utah. The human form is "by far, the hardest thing to paint," he said. But the rewards are rich. Human subjects, when done right, actually seem to draw breath, he said.
The artist's spiritual paintings come from scriptural accounts of the Savior that move him. "My testimony (is found) in the expressions, poses and arrangements that I use."
He admits to injecting a slice of himself into his paintings. He recently drew upon his paternal love for his 13-month-old children Ady and Chase while crafting the expression of wonder and exquisite gratitude on the father's face in his painting "Raising the Daughter of Jairus."
Many were introduced to Brother Hein's spiritual work last December when his nativity "Pondering Mary" appeared on the cover of the Ensign magazine. Others might have seen his talents on display at the Museum of Church History and Art.
Besides working on a portrait of U.S. Senator Gordon Smith, a Church member from Oregon, Brother Hein plans to begin work on paintings of Christ washing the feet of His apostles and a scene from the life of Mary Magdalene.
E-mail to: jswensen@desnews.com
