Created in 1973.   Medium: Pastel on Paper.   Image Size: 25"h x 31"w

About This Piece

The Creation of Adam was painted in 1973 when the artist was only 15 years old. It was painted on his mother's kitchen floor and was painted for a prestigious national competition titled Works on Paper sponsored by the Chicago Art Institute. Parrish's piece was delivered a day late to the institute due to mistakes the US Postal Service in Chicago had made. The institute had to refuse the entry to be a part of the competition as it did not make the established deadline. However the institute and their distinguished panel of judges, judged the piece the day after the competition as a courtesy to artist and had found that this work of his, had it been there by the deadline, would have been judged and selected the best in show and as a result would have taken first place in this, the first major national art competition he had entered.

By 1985 the original pastel was showing signs of degradation due to the fact that the artist used hairspray on the surface to fix the pastel to the paper. Brad's art teacher had told Brad that he could use his mother’s hairspray and did not have to use the expensive cans of fixatives to protect and set the pastel to the paper beneath. The use of his mother’s hairspray began to bead up the pastel and over time began to fall off the piece. Brad attempted to repair the piece by applying more pastel, however it became quickly apparent that he was changing the entire look and feel of the piece and stopped any further repair.

Brad had by chance photographed this piece before he began any repair work on it with a new 35 mm camera that his high school had just purchased. Because Brad photographed the original pastel before he did any repair work on it, the image was saved. The original painting was stolen in 1986 and has never been seen since. The only reproduction of this piece, one of Parrish's earliest works, is in the form of fine art limited edition prints, produced from those 35mm slides taken from him in high school.

In 1985 Brad produced his very first limited edition fine art print of his work and this piece was it. A limited edition of 500 signed and reproductions, along with artist’s proofs and a small size open edition sell sheet; these are the only images that remain of this magnificent piece. Brad had approached an award winning professional/commercial photography studio to see if they could use the slide that he shot of the piece in high school as that was the only image he had of the piece. The studio was amazed at the quality of the slide and after producing it as a full size photo from Brads slide, they were ecstatic at the results and had all of their photographers in a conference room to take notice of what one 35mm taken by a 14 year old had yielded. Films were made and Brad headed to the commercial offset lithographer to begin running the fine art reproductions. This is where Brad was believes that stronger forces were at play here. Not only was the photography studio amazed at the quality of this slide Brad took, the printer and Brad now too was amazed at the print quality coming off the presses of this piece. Normally it takes a lot of tweaking and or adjustments in getting colors up to par when the presses are running to match the art or in this case the photo, not so with this piece. There was no need for adjusting the colors or the films. This piece was dead on and was the very first reproduction the printer ever had this happen to with absolutely no adjustments having to be made. Brad has been on press supervising each and every one of his reproductions over the past three decades and never has any reproduction coming off press that has been up to color on the first run, except this one. “Amazing and unbelievable! This will probably never happen again in my lifetime” says Brad when he looks at this piece still even today.

One of the reproductions from this edition was gifted to the Vatican in Rome Italy where it resides today for safe keeping and is a permanent part of their collection.

* This original was also reproduced as a signed & numbered limited edition print in 1985.

Created in 2009.   Medium: Oil on Canvas.   Image Size: 16"h x 20"w

About This Piece

 Brad was approached by a someone who's daughter had just lost her baby. Her daughter had bought at a flee market an inexpensive painting of an angel holding a baby. Feeling that this was something that would help her get though her grief. The painting never really did help. Her mother who was the one who contacted Brad knew her daughter needed something with more feeling to help her with dealing with the loss of her baby and thought of Brad. She contacted him and asked if he would be willing to paint a piece for her of a real angel hold a baby. She sent Brad a photo of the painting her daughter had bought. Brad, who felt awful for this mother who lost her child agreed that he would do this for them. That night Brad thought a great deal about this mother losing her child and envisioned what you see as the final painting above. When the mother of the daughter saw this piece, she was speechless. Both her and more importantly her daughter found this piece to be the answers to their prayers in finding comfort in those things we cant understand. While Brad has never lost a child, his heart had to feel what hers did to paint a piece with so much tender loving care.

*Commissioned Piece

Painted in 2005. Medium: Oil on Canvas. Image Size: 36"w x 48"h

Created in 1973.   Medium: Oil on Canvas.   Image Size: 14"h x 18"w

About This Piece

This is one of the earliest surviving oil paintings completed by the artist when he was 15 years old. Brad had given this original to his friend and classmate Maria while in middle school.  Brad says he remembers her crying when she saw it and was so moved by it that he gave it to her. She kept the painting for over 40 years.  The last time they got together, the painting long forgotten by Brad, Maria returned it to him. Brad did not want to take the painting back but she insisted saying,  "Thank you for giving me this beautiful gift. I have cherished it for most of my life, it has brought me so much happiness. It's time I return it to you." The true reason behind the return was revealed a few days later  when a mutual classmate informed Brad of Maria's passing. Deeply saddened by the loss of his longtime friend, Brad has decided to let this painting go, hoping it finds another heart to touch as deeply as it did Maria's.

*This original is available for sale. For more information on this piece, please see the "Available Originals" galley.

Created in 1995.   Medium: Oil on Canvas.   Image Size: 30"h x 40"w

About This Piece

The Ultimate Sacrifice was created as a result of a possible heart attack that Brad underwent while working on a commission painting of an angel for a church. In extreme pain Brad promised God that if he could get him through this he would paint the piece he had been wanting to paint to glorify his creator many years before. As if it were meant to be, the chest pain had passed  almost immediately and Brad was able to complete the commission piece he was already working on. Brad began the next morning creating this piece titled The Ultimate Sacrifice. Not knowing what this piece he promised God he was going to paint, he began painting what he says was an emotional and spiritual pull toward the crucifixion of Christ. This piece was not planned out, not laid out, and not even thought out, it was Parrish with Mozart's Requiem blasting in the background and a divine spiritual experience that was driving Brad to paint this piece. This piece was painted in one 16 hour sitting. Parrish working from the center out knew he wanted to capture a close up and personal experience with the viewer and Christ in this his last moments, and as he put it, "I was being driven to create a work that I truly believe was not my conception but that of God, I was the tool or something. I had already completed the head and body of Christ and was working on his shoulders and arms when I realized I was not only an observer of this tragic event, I was for some reason a participant, and knew what I was to do next. I began scratching a box around him, here I was saying to Christ what so many had said to him on that fatal day. Here you are, king of the Jews, well here lets frame you in and glorify you! Save yourself!  I had found though my actions and efforts that  I was no better than any of those who mocked him and crucified him before me. I realized that I had put myself in the position of those who crucified him. I found myself reaching for the red paint which represents Christ's blood that was shed for us,  and began throwing it at the canvas over and over, while the music in the background kept  getting more powerful and intense until I was exhausted, and as tears feel from my eyes I knew it was over and I could not paint anymore". 

The original oil painting of this piece is availabe for sale. For more information please go to the "Available Originals" gallery.

* This original was also reproduced as a signed & numbered limited edition print in 1996.

Created in 1994.   Medium: Oil on Canvas.   Image Size: 12"h x 16"w

* This original was also reproduced as a signed & numbered limited edition print in 1995.

Created in 1996.   Medium: Pastel on Paper.   Image Size: 18"h x 36"w

*Commissioned Piece

Created in 1972. Medium: Charcoal on Paper. Image Size: 15"w x 21"h

About This Piece

This piece the artist Brad Parrish created in charcoal when he was 14 years old. This is the first reproduction of the artists work that was reproduced as an open edition print which was printed and released in 1980. The original drawing was done on the wall of the artist studio/bedroom on butcher or meat packing paper that he got free from the local butcher. Unable to afford fine art papers or an easel, you can see in this drawing the dark charcoal dots that appeared or came through when Brad rubbed his charcoal across the sand textured that the paper was tapped to. Brad hated this happening as expressed how he hated what was happening to his drawing.

* This original was also reproduced as an Open Edition print in 1980.

Created in 2004.   Medium: Oil on Canvas.   Image Size: 8"h x 10"w