My Country, 'Tis of Thee

For most of the 1990's I did a series of paintings (one per year) celebrating the United States becoming an independent nation, one nation...under God. The series was based on the song "America", written in 1832 by Samuel F. Smith. The painting above, "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", recalls probably the greatest truth of all, that America was founded, established, and is maintained by the hand of Almighty God.

Over the next few weeks, I will show several of these paintings.

The young boy, in the painting, is wrapped in an American flag declaring in a powerful way that America is indeed his country. With his mind filled with the adventures and hardships experienced by the founding fathers, he pauses from his model building for a moment to give thanks and to reflect on those experiences as expressed in the book, The Light and the Glory by Peter Marshall and David Manuel.

The replica of the Mayflower being built by the young boy is a clear and present reminder of the separatists who bought passage on the merchant ship headed to the New World. They sought religious asylum after separating themselves from the corrupted Church of England.

From Christopher (Christ-bearer) Columbus, who was convinced that God had given him a special mission to take the light of Christ into the darkness of undiscovered heathen lands; to the separatists; to the signers of the Declaration of Independence on July 4,1776; to George Washington, who led us in our fight for independence - most realized that it was God's hand that protected us and raised us up as a nation.

As the modern aircraft, in the painting, hanging from a string with canopy, wing, landing gear and nose cone missing indicates - our hope as a nation is not in our technology, science or military hardware but in God alone. My country, truly is of Thee.

High quality prints from this series are available. To purchase, select "Prints" on this website.