Wesley Dickmann’s life changed in a “miracle year for me,” said the 82-year-old artist and minister.
Last year, Dickmann went from being only able to walk with the help of a walker or mobility scooter to being able to stand and walk with no assistance. He had both knees replaced. He completed his first 5K race where he finished last, but first in his age group.
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He went from his hand trembling so much from essential tremors that he couldn’t sign his name, draw a straight line or stay inside the lines to being able to paint again. He’s still carrying a practice pad to help him learn to write again.
“I just feel so blessed,” he said in previous interview.
Dickmann recently was the main event for a senior adult soup fellowship in January at CrossPoint Church in Trussville.
“If you know Wesley Dickmann, you love Wesley Dickmann,” said Corey Sizemore, CrossPoint’s minister of recreation and senior adults. “It’s been such a privilege getting to know him over the past couple of months.”
Dickmann opened CrossPoint’s event with a couple of Elvis Presley songs: “Blue Hawaii” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Dressed in all black, he donned some Elvis like sunglasses and belted out the tunes as he worked the crowd of about 80 senior adults.
Specialized treatment
Dickmann shared that last fall, he underwent a procedure to prevent his essential tremors that he has struggled with for the past 10 years. Focused Ultrasound is a new procedure that he found out about through his granddaughter’s father-in-law, who had the same procedure earlier in the year.
“For 10 years, I haven’t been able to write my own name,” he said. “God gives all of us different gifts and talents, and we need to use those for His glory.”
Dickmann encouraged the group of senior adults to stay active.
“I know a lot of people say, ‘Well, you know I’m too old to do anything. Let these young people step up and start doing some of these things,’” he said. “That’s not God’s plan. He wants us to work from the cradle to the grave.
“We never get too old to do things. It’s only by God’s grace that we are able.”
Dickmann shared that Grandma Moses was 78 years old when she started painting seriously. About two months before she died, she quit painting (age 101). During her life, she sold her paintings for $3–5. Last year, one of her paintings sold for over $1 million at auction.
While some instrumental music played, Dickmann painted a landscape with steady brush strokes. He asked the people to meditate on how God is working in their lives.
He carefully placed clouds and trees and signed his last name and added a small cross at the end of his signature.
Dickmann finished by singing a Christian song called “The Brush,” which talks about God painting a believer’s life.
Bible reading challenge
CrossPoint challenges their members to read through the Bible every year, which Dickmann has always enjoyed doing each year. At the beginning of 2025, Dickmann’s brother challenged him to read through the bible a total of four times using four different translations. Dickmann took the challenge and, in 2025 he read through the Bible four times. Dickmann expressed that “no matter what age, or how long I’ve been reading God’s Word, there is always more that God is teaching me. My desire is to use the talent He’s given me to share the gospel with others.
“Painting, to me, wasn’t something I considered a ministry,” said Dickmann, a Sainte Genevieve, Missouri, native whose story was printed in 2002 in The Alabama Baptist. He was the minister of music and associate pastor at Central Baptist Church in Trussville, until December 2001, when he decided to commit full time to his painting ministry.
Dickmann’s ministry has allowed him to present at banquets, hospitals, nursing homes, schools and churches.
Looking ahead
Next up for Dickmann, other than some events at churches and painting at The Christmas Place Inn in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, is to have cataract surgery. He also wants to spend time with his family: four children, 18 grandchildren, 43 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.
To have Dickmann host an event for your church, please contact happyheartstudio@aol.com or call 205-613-5743.
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