TIFTON — Dr. Vincent Keesee, long-time art professor at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, has released an art book showcasing some of the art he has created over his lifetime.

The book, titled “Hallelujah: A Lifetime of Paintings,” features works created as early as 1953 through 2019. Keesee is a figurative and narrative painter whose work usually reflects aspects of southern life and culture.

Keesee, who put the book together along with his wire Marianna, said that they started on the book a couple of years ago in anticipation of an art retrospective at the Tifton Museum of Arts and Heritage.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has put a hold on that event, they are anticipating it to be rescheduled in the near future.

Keesee said that most of his art draws from people, places and events from his life, particularly religion.

“I didn’t have a title for this book,” he said. “We messed with several different titles and I didn’t like any of them. Finally the day we sent it off to be printed, I was looking at it and I said, you know, almost everything I do has to do with religion, churches and preaching and shouting. So I said I’m going to call it Hallelujah.”

Keesee’s painting subjects include church services, church weddings, street preachers, tent revivals and other church events. He also painted scenes from the Bible, such as the beheading of John the Baptist, the Annunciation and Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law.

He said that many of those same Bible stories have been painted since the Renaissance and many famous religious paintings depict people in the clothing and settings of the Renaissance painters. He decided to paint the same subjects and place them in the American South in his time.

Keesee’s paintings depict other aspects of Southern culture, such as fox-hunting, county fairs, dances, farm life, family life, animals and commerce. He said that many the people in his paintings are family members or friends. He also paints portraits, and the book includes portraits of him family, as well as portraits he has painted for friends.

The book includes a fraction of his lifetime of art creation, he said. Some of his sculptures and sketches have been included, but the main focus of the book is his paintings.

Keesee is selling signed copies of the art book from his home.

Copies may be picked up at the Keesee home by calling 229-382-0627 or 229-392-6050 or e-mailing mkeesee@friendlycity.net for an appointment.