By Jessie Nilo
Have you ever lost someone who helped you through a hard season—someone who saw you when you felt lost, small, or discouraged?
For me, that person was the amazing sculptor and painter Dean Estes.
Dean passed away at the end of this summer after a long battle with illness. A month after his memorial service, twenty of us from the original VineArts community gathered in a coffee shop to remember Dean the best way we knew how—by making art together.
We met at The Art Room in downtown Boise, coming together with brushes, gold leaf, paint, and tears.
Led by Lisa Marten and Dottie Olin, we made a collaborative piece entitled “Go Paint on People’s Lives.”
That’s what Dean always said: When we love the way God loves… we paint on people’s lives.
On the pre-toned yellow ochre canvas, we had already pre-drawn a hand guiding a large paintbrush, to pour out love and encouragement on others.
At the coffee shop, Lisa and Dottie prayed, then encouraged people to add acrylic paint, glue on words, and write Dean’s favorite phrases—simple words that shaped our lives in profound ways.
The room was filled with conversation, laughter, and the familiar sound of brushes moving across canvas.
When the painting was finished, we photographed it and then—just as Dean would have wanted—we turned the painting face-down and cut the 3×4-foot canvas into random 5×7-inch pieces.
Yes, you read that right. It was Dean’s favorite thing to do with collaborative paintings. 🙂
Each person who participated will receive a little section, just for them, which was randomly selected through prayer. Dean believed God speaks through art, color, and words in mysterious ways. We’re making prints of the finished canvas, too.
At the coffee shop, we set up a temporary walk-in display of our personal sculptures, paintings, journals, Bible verses, and poems that inspired us about Dean’s life.
Dean believed in an integrated life—one that was authentic, creative, and whole in Christ.
Dean taught us that tears are holy, that listening is an art form, and that we should never separate our faith from creativity.
A Story about Words
Once, I confessed to Dean that I was dreading a visit from my father, who disapproved of my life as an artist. Ahead of time, I was trying to scrape up conversation topics my dad might be interested in. My dad’s rejection always stung deeply, and his visits were stressful and exhausting.
After listening to my woes, Dean smiled and exhorted me with this truth-bomb:
“I think you should be yourself, and let it mess with him.”
That small phrase changed my life!
When my dad arrived, I ditched the dreaded shallow-talk, and started talking with him about art, which surprised me as much as it surprised him. I even took my dad to one of my art exhibits, and out to coffee with friends. And you know what? It went really well!
I could be gently, persistently authentic… I could relax, and just be me. And let it mess with people a little.
Who knew? My friend Dean knew.
To honor Dean’s legacy, God Loves Art is launching a new scholarship: the “Speak Life” Award. Dean always said our words can speak life or speak death over each other, and to choose life.
So every year, God Loves Art will choose one art minister who we see pouring encouragement into others, and we’ll choose one emerging artist who wants to develop their craft. And we’ll pour into them encouragement, rest, and practical support by sending them to art classes and retreats.
To fund this award, we’re offering T-shirts printed with Dean’s signature quote:
“Be yourself and let it mess with people.”
You can get a T-shirt here →
Dean taught us art is not just about paint or clay—it’s about people.
Thank you, Dean, for painting so beautifully on our lives.
Post-script: I made this drawing of Dean as we sat in Rembrandts Coffee in January 2025. We met for coffee to draw and talk about life and art, right up to the end.
I call this piece “Dean is Smiling At Me” because he was literally smiling as he watched me draw.
Dean, I love and miss you. We all can’t wait to see you again. (India ink on paper, 11X14″, by Jessie Nilo)