Howard Finster
Born in Valley Head, Alabama
December 2, 1916 / Died Oct 22, 2001

The Reverend Howard Finster was married with five children and resided in Summerville, Georgia. Reverend Finster was best known for his sermon art and for his Paradise Garden environment which is an ongoing expression of his religious convictions. In 1965 he heard a voice from the Lord which told him to transform two acres of land into a Paradise Garden. Using junk, broken dolls, tools and clocks he embedded these materials in concrete walls which surround a tower thirty feet high built of bicycle parts and his own church called the World's Folk Art Church. Paradise Garden was an ongoing project expressing his religious conviction and creativity and he explains that he assembled the pieces for a purpose — to mend a broken world.
In 1976 he had a vision of a tall man at his gate in which the Lord directed him to begin painting "sermon art" because, "preaching don't do much good; no one listens — but a picture gets on a brain cell." The voice commanded him to paint this sacred art and to create individual paintings and portraits of personal heroes, religious and patriotic images and to pass on his spiritual messages to the world.
Finster's paintings have evangelical themes and inspirational images which come from his own interpretations of the bible. Angels and saints as well as earthly characters are portrayed. All of his paintings contain witty, printed quotations known as "Finsterisms." Several of his paintings show how he was influenced by the imagery on postcards or popular magazines. Some of his creations have joined the contemporary world through his paintings for the album covers of the rock groups REM and The Talking Heads.
Finster makes art out of nail heads, gourds, bottles, mirrors, plastic, snow shovels and even an old cadillac, however the majority of his works are usually made out of plywood or heavy canvas with the works ranging in size from a few square inches to 8–9 feet in height. His art is original, innovative and expressive. He believed he came from another world and is often referred to as "This Stranger From Another World." Finster believes the more he paints, the more people he can save. The works are presented in many forms, sometimes called "paintings in tongue," visions of other worlds where people live in harmony.

Gary Lee Boas
Beginning in 1966 at age 15, Gary Boas would travel from his small town of Lancaster, PA to New York City, where he would sit for hours outside the theaters, parties and restaurants and wait in hopes of photographing famous people. Using his Brownie Bullseye camera, he captured everyone from silver screen goddesses and Broadway legends to forgotten local beauty queens; from rock stars to politicians; porn stars to the Pope. Boas¹s obsession continued, uninterrupted, for the next 35 years.
In 1999, on a visit to Boas's home in Lancaster, the editors of Dilettante Press discovered rows of meticulously assembled scrapbooks lining the sagging bookshelves of Boas's bedroom. The albums revealed a vast personal archive of over 50,000 images of famous people. This discovery resulted in an internationally acclaimed photo exhibition and the book, Starstruck: Photographs from a Fan.
Culled from Boas's images from the 60s and 70s, Starstruck unearths never-before-seen candid moments of the most famous superstars of the era, alongside many forgotten and cult personalities. Combined with Boas's own insightful and astonishing stories of his interaction with the stars, Starstruck documents, with a refreshing vitality, a bygone era of glamour, fashion, and pre-paparazzi innocence. The result is fascinating portrait of contemporary American culture, taken from the remarkable perspective of an unknown fan.
From Dillettante Press 2001
"Starstruck unexpectedly celebrates the beauty of the amateur-one whose vocation is not driven by a hunger for money, but by love. The Boas is a breath of fresh air"
- Warren Beatty

Andrew VanSicle
AVS, born in 1966, graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1993 with a B.A in Marketing. He has had long standing relationships with many recognized artists. VanSickle became known as an “Idea” person for artists. In 1987, he spent the summer working under the guidance of Rev. Howard Finster. The relationship and education lasted until Finster’s passing in 2001. VanSickle considers Howard Finster his mentor.
At the time, when “outsider art” was exploding in interest, VanSickle befriended many of the “outsider legends” including Mose Tolliver, RA Miller, Billie Lemming and Rev. BF Perkins to name a few. VanSickle also began to introduce the “concept of collaboration” to modern folk art.

In 1989, he was introduced to Paul Warhola (Andy’s Brother) and soon became his creative director and manager. VanSickle was granted yet another interesting education
from Mr.Warhola who had mentored Andy Warhol’s young creative years in Pittsburgh.

VanSickle artwork is more traditional of POP art than Outsider art. He started painting in 1987 when living at Finster’s Paradise Garden.

His strongest attribute is his sense of color when creating his work. VanSickle paintings seem to favor the false gods of the American experience. “Real or not the American fantasy of pop culture is what fuels Americans positive thoughts”. states VanSickle.

VanSickle has produced a number of art exhibitions in the past 20 years ,beginning with Howard Finster: Man of Visions in 1987 at the University of Cincinnati and last years  Visionaries and Voices: The Pop Life at the UC galleries on Sycamore.