Bosworth and Seymour as You’ve Never Seen Them

Full color portraits painted by Robert Pears

By Roscoe Barnes III, PhD
Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind “Christ the Healer”
Copyright © 2021
 

#FFBosworth

#BosworthMatters

Fred Francis Bosworth
(1877-1958)

Robert A. Pears of Pure Heart Ministries is using modern technology to create portraits of Pentecostal pioneers. He recently shared with me full color images of Fred Francis Bosworth (1877–1958) and William Joseph Seymour (1870 – 1922). The portraits are striking, vibrant, and unmistakable. Pears, a church historian, also produced an animated version of Bosworth’s face which shows movement of his head and eyes.

 
Deeply moved by the images, I inquired about the medium he used to produce them.
 
“I use a Wacom tablet, so the images are digital,” he said. “I have a series of brushes that I can use in Photoshop that act like oil brushes.”
 
The paintings are 16 x 20 and take around 2 days to do.
 
“I use a dual monitor set-up so I can have a photograph up on one and paint on the Wacom and see it on the other,” he said.

William Joseph Seymour
(1870 - 1922)

Pears produces videos about Pentecostal pioneers. He explained that doing his own artwork allows him to capture and share images without the hassles of dealing with copyright issues.

 
“I didn’t want copyright issues on my videos, etc., so I started painting my own [portraits] of the various heroes,” he said. “I wanted to make them real, so people would see them not as some superheroes but as ordinary people with real issues who discovered a real Jesus.”

Pears explained how this work started. He said it was a ministry that was inspired by the Lord. He recalled:

“Several years ago, the Lord told me to study the heroes of faith and create videos. Then He said, ‘Paint them.’ Well, I hadn’t painted since I was twelve. It was painful. But He said, ‘I’ll teach you.’ So, I have tried again and again. I’m getting there. I want to take old photos of people and make them so they are looking at you, and you can see their heart.” 

Pears has done an amazing job with these images and he’s providing an important service to the church. I’m hoping a few publishers and/or editors will discover his work and draw on his ability to tell the stories of other important people in church history.

Information on Pears and his work can be viewed here or by following this link: https://godsgeneralsandrevivals.com/

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Note: My book, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer," can be purchased
here with a 25% discount. Use the discount code (all caps): BOSWORTH25.
 

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For more information:
Visit the F.F. Bosworth page here. Questions about the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @bosworth_fred and @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer #BosworthMention #BosworthMatters