Brent Borup strives to uplift through his art

Although Brent Borup had always planned on being an artist, it wasn’t until about four years ago that he began to really take that dream seriously. Up until that point, Borup had painted many subjects ranging from from local scenery to beautiful women. He said that most of his paintings were mediocre, and some were very good, but when he looked back at some of those early works, he thought, “Why did I paint that? What was the point? How did that piece of artwork really contribute anything good to the world? How did that really uplift or inspire anybody to make their life better? How did that painting bring anybody closer to Christ? What is the point to my career choice if I’m not contributing positively to mankind?”

So, he made a change. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Borup decided to focus on his religious beliefs. He believes that by so doing, he can uplift others, help them make important life choices and even bring them comfort. Borup began to paint portraits of Jesus Christ and pictures of LDS temples, at first quite unsuccessfully.

One day, while using social media to spread the word about his artwork, Borup realized that he was focusing on the wrong thing. He decided to stop focusing on selling and instead use his artwork to spread the messages of the gospel of Jesus Christ. While trying to uplift others, he began to see personal success. Borup is now able to live his dream of being a full-time, self-employed artist. He recently took part in Springville’s Art City Days and Provo’s Freedom Festival. He will soon participate in Spanish Fork’s Fiesta Days, Salem Days and Brigham Young University’s Education Week. You can view Borup’s artwork at www.brentborupstudio.com.