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.

The love padlocks, called cadenas d’amour, multiplied until there were thousands of love tokens on the bridge, each engraved with a message of love. (Photo by Charles Platiau/Reuters)

A female Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighter stands near a security position in Sinjar, March 13, 2015. Women fighters at a Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) base on Mount Sinjar in northwest Iraq, just like their male counterparts, have to be ready for action at any time. Smoke from the front line, marking their battle against Islamic State, which launched an assault on northern Iraq last summer, is visible from the base. Many of the women have cut links with their families back home; the fighters come from all corners of the Kurdish region. (Photo by Asmaa Waguih /Reuters)

Photographer Dotan Saguy visited Cuba expecting to find resentment toward Americans, but he says that, instead, “Every Cuban I met was warm and welcoming despite me being an American”. Here: Several groups of locals relax on the Malecon in Old Havana, Cuba May 1, 2016. Some chat and drink rum while others dive into the warm Caribbean Sea. (Photo by Dotan Saguy)

Hooded torch bearers lead the winter procession through the snow on February 4, 2012 in Huddersfield, England. Imbolc is a pagan festival that marks the half way point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Imbolc festivals celebrates the awakening of the land and the growing power of the Sun. (Photo by Bethany Clarke/Getty Images)

“I live in Paddington Sydney. My great photographic passions are still life and surreal”. – Kevin Best. Photo: “Vanitas”, 2010. (Photo by Kevin Best)

A swimmer reacts after finishing his competition in a pool carved into thick ice covering the Songhua River during the Harbin Ice Swimming Competition in the northern city of Harbin, Heilongjiang province January 5, 2015. The swimming competition was held on the official launch day of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

People watch Russian heavy weapons at Tverskaya street during the rehearsal of the Victory Day parade in Moscow, Russia, 04 May 2022. Victory Day is held annually on 09 May and marks the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/EFE)