“I believe both visual art and music have helped expand my understanding of the world. The arts allow me to enjoy and experience other cultures. I’m able to see what’s available for me as an artist. I don’t look at art from one culture as being superior to another, they’re just different. They all have much to teach me.”

Kreg Yingst: Musicians, Saints and Mystics

Kreg Yingst is a full-time professional artist and illustrator living in Pensacola, Florida. He received his Bachelor’s degree in studio art from Trinity University (San Antonio) and his Master’s in painting from Eastern Illinois University. His works are in international public and private collections, including Purdue University, The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Pensacola State College, College of Lake County (Illinois), and Templeton Honors College at Eastern University. In 2024, Broadleaf Books published Kreg’s book “Everything Could Be a Prayer: One Hundred Portraits of Saints and Mystics”. The book features over 100 of my hand-painted icons. Teresa of Ávila, Howard Thurman, Black Elk, Fannie Lou Hamer, Simon of Cyrene, and Jarena Lee: through radiant woodblock prints of these and other icons of the faith, artist Kreg Yingst ushers us into God's presence. In Everything Could Be a Prayer, mystics who have communed with God and who worked for justice, mercy, and liberation come alive. Yingst carves images onto blocks of wood or linoleum and then inks and prints them on paper.

(Photo: Kreg Yingst: Leon Tolstoy & cover of his book “Everything Could Be A Prayer)

The resplendent portraits of mystics and justice-seekers that result lead us into visio divina, or "sacred seeing." This form of ancient Christian prayer, in which one meditates on a work of art, moves us into sacred reflection and action. Each mystic embodies a virtue or practice such as mercy, vulnerability, forgiveness, worship, and courage. From Brigid of Kildare we learn hospitality; from Ida B. Wells, truth. From Josephine Bakhita we learn freedom; from Takashi Nagai, trust. All point us toward Christ Pantocrator: ruler of all. Each print is paired with a scripture, a meditation on a life well lived, and a prayer. Everything Could Be a Prayer, complete with Lent and Advent reading guides,is a rich resource for private prayer and communal reflection.

Interview by Michael Limnios / Artworks by Kreg Yingst

How has the visual art and music influenced your views of the world? How does music affect your mood and inspiration?

I believe both visual art and music have helped expand my understanding of the world. The arts allow me to enjoy and experience other cultures. I’m able to see what’s available for me as an artist. I don’t look at art from one culture as being superior to another, they’re just different. They all have much to teach me.

Music has the ability to transport me to places from my past. When I hear a song it can instantly trigger memories. Songs have been filed away in my brain and can be accessed at any time with just a few musical notes or a line from a lyric. Music certainly affects my moods.

When I travel, I often listen to music that’s indigenous to the area, the delta blues in Mississippi, Cajun in south Louisiana, and Trad in Ireland. This enhances my overall experience of the place and often stimulates new ideas. I will typically listen to meditative music in my studio, whether classical, ambient, instrumental, choral, or chant. If I’m doing a specific piece on a musician I’ll sometimes have their music playing while I work.

How do you describe your artwork’s philosophy? Where does your creative drive come from?

My work develops from my interests: music, history, people, faith, and travel. I’m a narrative artist. The story behind the piece is the driving force, and reading and researching are part of the process. In most cases, people are the subject matter, so I consider myself a figurative artist as well. And while I do portraits, I’ve never considered myself a “portrait artist.” Am I an iconographer? Maybe, in a contemporary, loose sense of the word, but not a traditional iconographer. I draw inspiration from icons and other sources to speak a visual language.

”Music has the ability to transport me to places from my past. When I hear a song it can instantly trigger memories. Songs have been filed away in my brain and can be accessed at any time with just a few musical notes or a line from a lyric. Music certainly affects my moods.” (Artworks by Kreg Yingst: Sonny Boy Williamson II, Ma Rainey, Son House, Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, Blind Lemon Jefferson)

Why do you think that the Blues and Rock music continues to generate such a devoted following?

I think there’s an authenticity with both blues and rock that developed from their birth. The blues are guttural—stripped down and honest. Classic rock spawned so many unique bands that there rarely seemed to be two alike. They each had their individual “voice” which could be spotted a mile away. The music has gradually stood the test of time and continues to be discovered by younger generations.

What do you miss most nowadays from the music of the past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

In our postmodern world, it seems we’re just regurgitating everything that has already been invented. It’s the dilemma of all art and artists. We borrow from the past but rarely offer anything unique and explosive. It’s that explosion of creativity from earlier periods that I don’t think will ever be recaptured. I hope I’m wrong. On the other hand, I’m probably biased and ignorant of the many unique musical genres developing while adhering to an idealized concept of the music from my youth. One of the things I miss the most about the music experience from my past is purchasing an album—the magic of it, the build-up. One can still buy an album today, but the dynamics have changed. When I was younger, I’d listen to the radio, WLS, or WXRT out of Chicago where I lived. I remember hearing a few songs on the radio that I enjoyed so much that I just had to have that record! I’d collect newspapers and bottles—anything I could sell to make a buck. I would eventually save up enough money and get that album.From the initial desire to obtaining the album was a long process, not like the instant gratification of today where you can download something immediately. After weeks or months, the day would finally arrive when I had enough money to make a purchase. I would head down to my local record shop and start flipping through the record bin. If I liked what I had heard on two different albums, the album art might be the deciding factor of which album I got.

As soon as I got back home the record would go onto the turntable and the needle would drop into the groove. I’d get comfortable, kick back, read the lyrics, and enjoy the art. It was an entire experience of sight, sound, and poetry. I would be hearing the music in all of its entirety for the first time, just as the musicians had conceived of it. The long wait to get to that day made it all the more gratifying. Instant gratification is not all bad. I think the Internet and technology have opened up a whole new world for many talented artists to find an audience—it even allows them to make money on the side or a living while being authentic to their vision. The consumerist culture, however, seems to always stifle the creative impetus. It’s a road most artists have to navigate at some time or another.

”The arts can express the image of the creative God through us. Absolutely! I feel a deep connection with God through the creative process. The block printing medium is a very slow and meditative process.” (Artworks by Kreg Yingst, an artist and illustrator living in Pensacola, Florida: Frank Zappa, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Leadbelly, Jerry García, Lightnin Hopkins)

What do you personally consider to be the incisive moments and pieces in your work and/or career?

My early paintings were influenced by the magic realists of the 1940s and 1950s—George Tooker, Jared French, Paul Cadmus. I think I produced some very strong work from that period. Around 2000, I discovered the wordless woodcut novels of Lynd Ward and Frans Masereel. It was the perfect segue for me to jump into block printing and I started balancing the two media. It was also at this time that I took an interest in the blues which led to an undiscovered world of story and sound. By the time I traveled the backroads of the Mississippi delta—Greenwood, Clarksdale, Tunica—I had become well acquainted with the people who had lived there and played music on the streets and in the juke joints. The blues prints eventually extended into classic rock, partly because a good majority of the rockers had been influenced by the blues.

With the blues, I was trying to portray the rough-edged grittiness of the sound, but visually. These pieces were primarily black and white, scratchy in the carving style, and printed on a tobacco-type paper that was aged. The effect seemed to capture a nostalgia that worked nicely for the subject matter. The block print—wood engravings, woodcuts, linocuts—were all used extensively in posters, book illustration, and advertising when the blues were invented, so it was a nice fit.

When I shifted to portraying rock musicians and bands, color became an important consideration. That meant using multiple blocks and layering colors with each successive pressing to create the image. It was a technical advancement for me. I continued to use the block print but created the print using a style reminiscent of the psychedelic silkscreen posters and album covers from the 1960s and 70s. The art referenced album covers, records, CDs, and music posters in size and shape only. Each composition was unique. I wasn’t duplicating anyone’s work.

Stepping into my booth at an art fair was to be a nostalgic experience, similar to walking into a juke joint or record shop, depending on the work I was featuring. I often played music, early delta blues or 70’s rock, on a Bluetooth speaker through a gutted 1935 Montgomery Ward’s radio. It all added to the immersive experience.

In 2013, following the Sandy Hook school shooting, I began creating my rendition of icons. These icons were initially inspired by prayers addressing the concept of light being birthed from dark times. The research in finding these prayers sent me down a rabbit hole of discovering saints and mystics, and their stories of healing and rebirth. I’ve continued this series of icons as the saints and mystics have informed my own spirituality. They have helped me navigate tough times—the desert fathers and mothers during the COVID lockdown, the civil rights mystics following the George Floyd murder, and the peacemakers during our current war-infested days. I’ve passed on their wisdom to others in hopes that they can offerinsight, healing, and spiritual direction. Last year, Broadleaf Books published Everything Could Be a Prayer. The book features over 100 of my hand-painted icons.

”I think there’s an authenticity with both blues and rock that developed from their birth. The blues are guttural—stripped down and honest. Classic rock spawned so many unique bands that there rarely seemed to be two alike. They each had their individual “voice” which could be spotted a mile away. The music has gradually stood the test of time and continues to be discovered by younger generations.” (Artworks by Kreg Yingst: Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, the Beatles, Bob Dylan)

What is the impact of art and music on the socio-cultural implications? How do you want the art/music to affect people?

Ultimately, I want the art to be a source of healing. It’s meant to educate and inform, but it’s also to be enjoyed and uplift the human spirit. We live in a time and culture where we’re bombarded by sight and sound from every direction. You can’t escape it. Everything is vying for our attention, and there’s a lot of crap out there. We’re constantly filtering. I’m just one drop in that ocean. I know people who have been positively affected by what I’m doing, and they’ve told me so.

If you had a question you would like to ask Harriet Tubman, Leo Tolstoy, Bob Dylan, and Leadbelly what would it be?

What’s your favorite song? Ha, ha, OK, probably not that, maybe, what was the most difficult thing you ever did and how did you draw the strength to get through it?

John Coltrane said "My art is the spiritual expression of what I am...". How do you understand the spirit, art , and the meaning of life?

That is a deep question. The arts can express the image of the creative God through us. Absolutely! I feel a deep connection with God through the creative process. The block printing medium is a very slow and meditative process. Carving a block allows me time to center—to stop and breathe. It’s contemplative. I believe there are times the spirit moves through me in intimate ways while I engage with this right-brained “language” that transcends language. I can connect with God in the intimacy of silence, or sound if I choose. For me, making art becomes prayer.

Kreg Yingst - Home

(Artworks by Kreg Yingst: Leon Tolstoy & Harrier Tubman)