Art Show

Glen Beck had an art show in Park City last weekend.  Mel and I went up and it was really cool.  He was there and walked us through all his pieces and explained the story behind them.  This one is a picture of Ronald Regan and represents the American dream; freedom and the ability to build your own life and chart your own course.

I can't remember the story behind both of these paintings, but one was an upset where the man who was expected to win lost.  He talked about the fact that he proved himself a real champion when he was humble about it, learned from it and trained harder.  We all get knocked down, but it's what we do when we are down that shows our true character.

I love this one of Abraham Lincoln.  It was so fun to hear him talk about each painting and what inspired it.  He said he feels called to do what he's doing on his radio show and be a conservative voice to warn people about what's coming.  He said it is really heavy and depressing for him to report about the news and the problems in our country so painting is a way for him to stop thinking and recharge. He uses the money from his paintings to buy American History artifacts.  He said he feels called to collect them and protect them from being destroyed.  I happen to agree with a lot of what he says, but even if you don't, it really seems to me that his motives are pure and he is doing what he feels called to do.

The pictures of Christ were very touching.  

He talked about praying and asking God, "where are you" when he hears about all of the terrible things going on in the world and all of the suffering.  He said his answer was that, He is found where people are suffering.  It's so hard to look at or think about all of the suffering in the world, but if we don't we will miss seeing God and miss being able to help alleviate that suffering

I loved the story behind this Better Days one.

This one is from an actual photograph of a little boy that appeared in the newspaper at the end of World War II.  He lost his family and he said he wanted to capture the sadness in his eyes, but also the hope for a better world and life for him with the war being over.  There is a Ukrainian flag at the bottom and painted this after Russia invaded Ukraine.  He got emotional when he talked about how much money he raised on his radio show to help the people in Afghanistan this year and the people of Ukraine.  He has a few charities and lots of connections and has literally been rescuing people from both countries.

He painted this picture of "Columbia" in one day.  I had never heard of Columbia.  This says, "Columbia, the female national personification of the United States.  Columbia was strong and beautiful, modeled after Greek mythology and infused with a unique sense of Americanism, symbolizing justice, inclusiveness and hope of an established American dream."

I love this one.  I remember being so impressed with the Amish community who immediately forgave a gunman who shot ten girls, killing five of them.  I can't imagine the heartache of losing a child that way and choosing forgiveness over anger and bitterness. 

I'm so glad we went, I really enjoyed it and it was fun to spend the afternoon with Mel.