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ARIZONA
DAILY STAR |
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Daniel Martin Diaz grew up amid the images of saints. Today, he paints them.Diaz, an untrained artist, creates passionate, sometimes gruesome portraits of martyrs and others who suffered for the faith."It's like a way of us somehow connecting with god," he said of his paintings, and the veneration of saints in general."It's kind of hard for us to relate to God. It's easy for us to relate to another humans." Religion energizes Diaz, 31. A gentle, introspective soul, he also can fix you with an intense gaze that demands his art be seen, rather than merely looked at. The saints that he paints are not the serene, classically beautiful people found on laminated prayer cards and wrapped around tall votive candles. Diaz's saints are sorrowful, often tortured souls, heads bent as if in supplication - or resignation. The canvases bleed pain and passion. Here is St. Peter the Martyr, looking stoic, despite a cleaver wedged into his skull. There is a headless torso of St. Sebastian, its bluish flesh flushing red where four actual nails have been driven into the artwork "I think that what I've been trying to show is the reality of what they went through to become a saint," he said, simply. "Blood. Pain. Sacrifice." Diaz, who is a product merchandiser by day, said he isn't exactly sure where the extreme images originate. He began painting pictures of the Madonna and saints about three years ago. He said he's not sure what images will come to him next, or how long the talent will last, But he hopes to have a positive impact while he can. It's beyond my control," he said of his artist gift. "It chose me; I didn't choose it." "When people look at my pieces, hopefully it sparks some spiritual thing within themselves."
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