A participant has his body painted before a regional bodybuilding championship in Stavropol, southern Russia, April 10, 2016. (Photo by Eduard Korniyenko/Reuters)

A hyena kisses his own reflection while appearing to walk on water. (Photo by Jake De Wet/Caters News Agency)

A stroller walks his dogs in an autumnally colored forest in Cuxhaven, nothern Germany on November 7, 2018. (Photo by Patrik Stollarz/AFP Photo)

An Afghan boy carries his wheelbarrow in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, August 5, 2019. (Photo by Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo)

A man wearing a headgear walks along with his child on a street in Banda Aceh on July 25, 2023. (Photo by Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP Photo)

A man poses as his acquaintance takes pictures on a street in the town of Vyborg, Russia on January 28, 2024. (Photo by Anton Vaganov/Reuters)

A dog waits as his companion fills out their ballot at Eastern Market in Washington, DC, on November 5, 2024. (Photo by Allison Robbert for The Washington Post)

Light is the sole reason why life exists. It provides us with warmth; it allows us to see; it nourishes all the living things on this planet. Many painters, especially the masters of Old Renaissance Period, have recognized the importance of light and its intimate connection with nature and life itself. In their paintings they gave tribute to light, giving the impression that their paintings had a light source hidden within them. Al Hogue, the artist who created the paintings that you see before you, has studied their techniques for many years. As time went by, light permeated not only his paintings by also his life, becoming his sole philosophy.