Charles “Charlie’ Ruth is a 32 year old young man from Harlingen, TX. He started his drawing career in 2008. This particular painting is done with both air and paint brush mediums. It only took Charles one week to finish the painting during craft shop. His inspiration for drawing the painting is also the name he gave it ‘Apostolic Succession’. He said it is a blessing to be able to belong to the Catholic Church where we can trace our lineage from the apostle Peter down to our very own Archbishop Gustavo.
He asked himself, “What can I do for the Church from inside the Torres Prison?” His answer to himself was to use his God-given talent in a way that he could give back and would also inspire others to use their talents in a positive way. He mentioned that despite being incarcerated and the limited resources, he knows that God blesses his children with many talents, gifts and fruits from the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. He said he chose to draw the Archbishop after he had received correspondence in response to a letter he sent to the Archdiocese and inside was a prayer card with the picture of the Archbishop about the size of 1 inch by 1 inch. This was idea he was looking for since his favorite artwork is to draw portraits.
Charlie’s job assignment at ‘Torres’ is being designated as the Unit Artist. With his appointment, he has been commissioned, with the approval from the State Warden, to paint bible-based wall murals in the P-Wing (a faith based dorm) and is on schedule to finish 7 murals this year. He said painting bible themed murals makes him feel connected to the Church. The Catholic Church has changed my life and painting biblical murals feel really natural to me. This project is funded by outside donors, one of which are the Knights of Columbus Council from Deacon Bob’s parish. They have helped to pay for the supplies needed for Charlie to complete his work that will hopefully be a positive inspiration to others and will be a blessing for those looking for a visual affirmation or depiction of the bible.