B.F. Perkins

B. F. Perkins ,Self-taught Outsider Artist,was a preacher in the Church of God and was born in Lamar County, Alabama in 1904. He joined the Marines and served with them for four years. He received a degree in Hebrew history from the University of Virginia. He held many jobs, but preaching was always the most important part of his life.

Reverend Perkins scraped together every dime he could find for lumber and nails to build his church. Finally his wife left him after she had had all the sacrificing she could stand. It was then that he turned to art. His first creative work was the reshaping of his environment, building his replicas of the sites of the crucifixion and the crypt. Then he started to paint. 

Reverend Perkins created an environment that reflects his strong personal belief in God and Country. His environment, in Fayette, Alabama was painted with the patriotic colors, red, white and blue, using a variety of Byzantine patterns with suitable Biblical quotations. On a smaller scale, the Reverend Perkins painted on board, canvas and gourds. His paintings almost always incorporated the American flag, the Statue of Liberty, his church, and inscriptions preaching advice for virtuous living. He painted mail boxes and furniture as well. Reverend Perkins was consumed by a burning passion and he sacrificed everything for it. After his death, his family ,suspicious of his passion, burned his environment to the ground.