Prominent Atlanta artist Sal Brownfield has touched and been "touched" by art for over sixty years. In his own words, "Art is a verb as well as a noun, something that happens. Painting is a way to investigate the improbable life of human beings, to understand more of my journey. The passion in my art comes from the mystery of "why, what, and how" experienced in a constantly changing world. It is a bold thing to make art. I cannot go into it tentatively. Wavering reveals itself.

"Painting is a process of solving problems. As the work proceeds, options diminish and I become committed to a solution. I spend my days making choices that fulfill the intention of the work. As new problems are created and resolved my commitment grows stronger. My work contains a blending of eastern philosophy regarding the use of material and western notions of the depiction of things by material.

"In the end, the question about any art is simply "Why should we look at it? What is it for?" For me it is about verification of our common experiences. Art is healing, non-clinical, spiritual. It provides balance and reflection in a time when we are inundated with snap images."

Sal's work graces studios and locations as varied as the United Nations Pavilion in Genoa, Italy; a barrel vault ceiling in the conversion of a late 18 th century castle into a conference center for the Anugraha Hotels in Windsor, England; and the walls of a locked down facility for troubled boys at Inner Harbour Hospital in Douglasville, Georgia. One of Sal's paintings depicting a mountain castle overlooking a farming village as seen from a great height fills a wall at the Mythic Imagination Institute offices.

He has worked in theatre set design; created custom furniture products for the Metropolitan Museum and the National Fireman's Museum; and celebrated the 500th anniversary of Columbus sailing with a series of eight paintings based on creations myths from around the world, sculpture, 8' square footprint, and a One World mobile globe with clear ship sails.

Says Brownfield, "At twenty I felt my art belonged to me. At forty, that I deserved ownership of it. At sixty it belongs to everyone. I hope that someone viewing my work in two hundred years will experience themselves more human."

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