Parker County Today January 2017 | Page 51

Serving Parker County for over 60 years
Our goal is to serve every family as if they are a part of our own .
Bathgate . “ For that one they flew me out to North Carolina and took me by limo out to the movie set — that was my 15 minutes of fame , I guess .”
Ever searching for the “ real ” in life , Norris has worked in many mediums , doing portraiture , murals , western and Native Americanthemed oils and acrylics . Currently , he is exploring a technique involving underpainting in acrylics then coming back over the top with water mixable oils .
That said , he emphasized that these days he ’ s pretty passionate about music , songwriting and openmic gigs . “ Art and music are like brother and sister in the creative family ,” he said . What does art mean to him ? “ It pays my bills ,” he replied and laughed . Looking a little deeper he shared what it is about art that really moves him . “ The conception of an idea , like when I ’ m working with somebody and they start telling me what they ’ re ‘ seeing ,’ something they can see but not do . I get a real kick out of connecting the dots for them
and seeing the look on their face when I bring their vision to life , being able to bridge that gap .”
What purpose does art serve in society at large ?
“ The first thing that comes to mind is ‘ Without a vision the people perish .’ Without visionaries and poets and artists and musicians I think a society gets stagnant and kind of onedimensional . Now I ’ m not putting anybody down , because God knows we need accountants and all that ; but if you ’ re not careful you can get so pragmatic , so linear in your thinking that there ’ s no fun left . You ’ ve got to dream beyond . I think that 9 to 5ers will look [ to ] people like me or an actor or a musician or whatever to release something in them . I don ’ t know how to do what they ’ re doing — they ’ re taking care of the figures and balancing the books and doing all this wonderful stuff , building all these highways [ etc .]. But then there comes a time when you ’ re entertained and your soul is fed by people who really are thinking outside the box and saying and doing kind of crazy fun things with art or music or whatever it is .”
Norris was quick to point out that whatever talent or abilities he has are gifts from God that he doesn ’ t take lightly , and not in a “ I ’ m proud of my humility ” sense , but truly in a very real way . God has made a huge difference in his life , he said , and he is focusing on a closer walk . He is determined to be as real as he can in this world . “ I need the peace of God . I can deal with anything else , but I don ’ t want my relationship with Him severed .” What lies ahead for Norris ? “ Well , I definitely need to lose some weight ,” he said , laughing once again . “ I want to do some stuff that ’ s transcendent — stuff that goes way beyond me . I ’ m not a preacher or anything like that , but I would like some songs or art that would encourage or pull people towards God . I ’ ve been pretty selfish all my life . That makes me sad . I ’ m nearly 65 , so I need to get on the stick and leave a better legacy .”

Serving Parker County for over 60 years

Our goal is to serve every family as if they are a part of our own .

Norma Plowman | Misty Plowman-Engel | James R . Plowman 913 N . Elm St ., Weatherford , TX 76086 | 817-594-2747 | 800-593-2747 | jamesplowman @ gpfcnet . com New Location Now Open : 4941 I-20 Frontage Road | Willow Park , TX 76087
Photo by Megan Parks
JANUARY 2017 PARKER COUNTY TODAY
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