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About Me
- Pete
- New Jersey
- Since my first trip to Gettysburg as a young boy, I've been captivated by History. I get it from my mom. Although she passed away when I was just 13, she still had an influence on me. All our family vacations were stitched around some historical site. So, history geeks are in my blood. I'm a graphic designer by profession and a semi-amateur painter. I love to explore history through my paintbrush. I've also done living history to get a first hand feel for "what it was like". Looking at history through the eyes of the common man (or woman) and understanding the personal, human drama is really the spice that flavors the historical stew!
Me at the Winslow Homer Studio
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Friday, January 30, 2009
Super Sunday!
Here's a 9x12" oil painting I did which I hope will get you in the mood for Super Bowl Sunday! OK, my beloved Giants came up short, but this should be a good game!
Will the Cardinals make history on Sunday with the franchises first ever Super Bowl win? Hey, you never know!
There's no history lesson with this post today....but if you are having a history jones you can check out my new blog about Art in History at http://www.historynet.com/
Correction....the Weider History Group site is called Great History at www.greathistory.com. It's a test site now, but will go live in a day or two.
Friday, January 16, 2009
A New Birth of Freedom
This week, Karin Jurick's painting challenge on Different Strokes from Different Folks was the Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC. Here's my 6x6" oil on board version of the scene. It is an appropriate subject with the upcoming historic inauguration of America's first black president. This $150 million party (by far the most expensive in history) with concerts, balls and speeches will, I guess, make the event even more special. And, to add just a little more drama, he's thrown in an Abraham Lincoln theme as his 200th birthday is only days away.
Obama's "A New Birth of Freedom" theme is borrowed from Lincoln's most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address. Even now, that speech puts mist in my eye and a sniffle in my nose. It's stunning. But what of Lincoln's inaugurations? He certainly didn't need boatloads of cash and fan fair to add to the drama. A lot has been made of the challenges faced by President Barack Obama. What did Lincoln do?
In 1861 president elect Abraham Lincoln had to sneak into Washington as a result of a suspected assassination plot. By the time he gave his inaugural speech, appealing to "the better angles of our nature" in front of an unfinished Capitol building (was there at least a "pardon our appearance" sign?), seven states had already left the Union. I'd rather deal with a financial crisis than a rebellion any day.
Four years later, with the rebellion just about put down and 600,000 Americans dead, he now faced another monumental challenge; binding the wounds of the nation. The slavery issue still hung heavy in the air since the Emancipation Proclamation was only a war time measure and only applied to states in open rebellion. A Constitutional Amendment was still needed and an angry and defeated south wasn't going to like it. With perhaps his toughest tasks still ahead of him, Lincoln threw down another epic speech. Give it a quick read before Tuesday.
I'm a little uncomfortable with this lavish spending and spectacle coupled with Obama's insistence upon identifying himself with our country's greatest president. It certainly lacks the humility that was a large measure of Abraham Lincoln's leadership ability.
Time will tell if Barack Obama will have his own marble shrine in Washington DC. It's going take a lot more than fan fair and coattails though.
On the other hand, he is the President of hope....
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