Wednesday, May 29, 2013

A Note on my Memorial Flag Painting Series


There are a number of reasons why I enjoy painting the American Flag, but I thought it might be interesting to talk a little about how I got started on this series.

A few years ago, one of my oldest friends married a man from Oahu.  When I was there for the wedding I had no plans to do anything other than attend the wedding and visit with my friend.  The morning of the wedding I got up early for some reason and when I was going for breakfast I ran into a family that was also there for the wedding.  They were on their way to the Pearl Harbor Memorial and I ended up joining them.

The tour starts with a short Documentary of that day, bringing it vividly to life and I find there were a lot of details about that day I didn't know.  We leave the dark movie theater into the brilliant Hawaiian day and board a small boat to go over to the Memorial.  The Memorial is a semi-open platform on top of the sunken USS Arizona.  You can see the shipwreck rusting through the clear water.  At one end is a wall of the names of the over 1,000 sailors of the Arizona that died that day.  The platform is crowded with people, but no one speaks.  The sky is a pure deep blue.  And flying above it all is a single American Flag.


It is such a moving experience, I wish every American had the opportunity to go.

The first Flag painting I did was of the Flag at the Memorial and every Flag painting since then has the same intended goal.  To honor the Men and Women who serve our country, to respect those who have died in her defense, and to show love for my country.

I hope you enjoy these paintings as much as I do in painting them.

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