Happy Halloween in April

Today I had a wild hair in me and had to post a picture of my painting, “Happy Halloween” on my Facebook page.  Halloween is a holiday that we celebrate to the extent that the children and I carve pumpkins and then walk around to a few close friends’ houses and share candy for the kids.  It’s a lot of fun and adds a nice variety to the season.  Like most families, Halloween represents a magical time for children to play dress-up, go outside after dark with Mom and Dad (which they hardly ever get to do), and eat a lot of candy.  My wife and I are overly protective parents and don’t even let our kids watch scary movies so you could say our Halloween may be a little different than others.

Some were surprised that I would paint a Halloween picture seeing the other kinds of art that I do.  For me, it was something relaxing and innocent to paint after doing very serious painting of Jesus.

One of my followers on Facebook said, “What do you think of halloween Jon? I dislike it to the fullest, shed some light please, to how you feel.”

I responded, “I'm not really a Halloween fanatic. What I like about Halloween is watching my kids dress up as princesses and sports heroes and watch their faces light up as they see the candy and lights. I know Halloween has a darker side to it...but that is not a part of the world I live in. Often Satan takes the good and twists it into the bad. In this case we're taking the bad and twisting it into the good! Happy Halloween!”

His response was, “Nothing happy about happy halloween. The roots of halloween are pagan and evil, have you ever tried to make crap not stink.... its really hard to do, maybe in due time the smell will go away, but its still crap my friend Jon. I do not fall into worldly deeds, I try my best to follow Godly deeds as you try to do Jon. Does it say anything about halloween in the BIBLE?”

I appreciated his comment.  I know that the roots of Halloween are pagan and evil.  Did you know the roots of Dec. 25^th were also a pagan holiday?  What about Easter?  We now celebrate the birth of Christ on this day in December which used to be a date to celebrate many of the Roman gods.  In April we celebrate Easter which also is also mixed with a pagan holiday.  My point is that it is not what it was then, but what it is now, particularly within our own families. 

I have chosen to center my family around Christ.  This doesn’t mean that we don’t carve pumpkins, have a Santa Claus and an Easter bunny for a little fun.  I have many good friends who are beautiful Christians who HATE Halloween and everything about it and I will not judge them.  It is their choice to do what they do.  I believe that God will judge me based on what is in my heart and the way I honor His name.  On Christmas we focus on the birth of Christ; at Easter we focus on the triumphant Resurrection; and at Halloween we talk with the kids about what they want to be when they grow up and what Jesus wants them to be.  In the Bible it says, “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”  (Matthew 7:18-20)  This tells me to judge what I do by the “fruit” or the results.  My Halloween may be different from yours.  I suppose we should judge everything in our life by the fruit.  I don’t know of any commandment that says not to take my kids Trick or Treating, so until the fruit goes bad… Happy Halloween!!

McNaughton and Thomas Kinkade

Today I was asked a good question on my Facebook page, “I see some wonderful similarities between your work and Thomas Kinkade. Who would you say has influenced you the most as an artist?”

That's an interesting comparison. Being an artist is sometimes like being a chef. We all have our specialties. Kinkade likes to make desserts. Sometimes I make desserts too. The difference is that his art is a little sweeter. Right now my focus is on painting what I consider the meat and potatoes.”  

Thomas Kinkade has been popular with many Americans in the last decade.  His dreamy paintings of cottages with cobblestones streets enveloped in spoonfuls of color have been a marketing sensation.  He brands himself as the “Painter of light.”  He has become the whipping boy among many artists today either out of jealousy for his financial success or because they simply don’t like his sentimental paintings.  My only beef against Kinkade is that I can’t paint an English cottage without someone saying the name Thomas Kinkade!  (I suppose that is a credit to his marketing manager.)

Who is my inspiration…a little of everybody and not much of any single individual. I suppose I admire the Renaissance Masters. But I don't like to compare myself to anybody. I have my own voice and own way of doing things.  I am an artist with a mission.  I hope my work will help people to think about their relationship with God and their duty to preserve the liberties we cherish in this country.  My art is a personal journey and the result is for everybody else. Thank you for the question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VUo8OuFaiI

MCNAUGHTON ART GIVEAWAY!!!

YES!, we’re doing it again.  In appreciation to our best fans we are giving away some of our most popular prints.  In order to enter this contest only two things are required…

First… Be a new or existing “subscriber” on the MCNAUGHTON Youtube Channel Page. http://www.youtube.com/user/McNaughtonArt   Be sure to leave a comment on the channel telling me which is your favorite video and why, and include your real name (channel names can be hard to identify for purposes of naming a winner!)

Second…  Write me a note on my Facebook page telling me which print you would like to win.

This contest will run until Wednesday the 13^th and the winners will be announced Thursday the 14^th!

There will be a first and second prize awarded.  Each print will be personally signed by the artist!

***FIRST PRIZE:  Choose TWO of your favorite McNaughton 10X15 prints from the following list:  One Nation Under God, The Forgotten Man, Via Dolorosa, Peace is Coming, Parting the Veil, Awaiting the Command.

***SECOND PRIZE:  Choose ONE of your favorite McNaughton 10X15 prints from the same list as above. (To view images visit the photos on Facebook)


GOOD LUCK!!!

 This is a small sliver of my new painting, "The Arrival."  If you write somewhere on your Youtube comment the words, "The Arrival", I will add an extra print and personalize it with something of your choice.  Somebody who enters today will be one of the final winners!

Why Satan?

I am often asked why I sometimes include Satan in my paintings.  I have received numerous letters from people who have spent up to an hour looking for Satan and still can’t find his placement in the picture.  In real life, Satan hides himself so discretely that many can’t find him. One of the greatest accomplishments Satan has achieved in this world is convincing people that he does not exist. 

I choose to create a symbolic representation of who Satan is. My goal is simply to make him as creepy as possible.   He is like a dark shadow lurking in the background.  In reality, I suspect he is probably handsome and would appear as if he were your friend.  But I believe we can detect his evil spirit if we are sensitive.

 Click image to view video about Satan in the Via Dolorosa painting

So, what does this mean to you?  I believe that God allows Satan to be here to temp us.  Even our first parents, Adam and Eve, were subject to his deceptions.  It is interesting to me how God in His wisdom allows Satan to entice us that we may choose between good and evil.  In so doing we show God the true nature of our hearts.  God made a promise as Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden of Eden:  Speaking to Satan God said, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Gen 3:15)  This tells us that although he can injure our heel, we can bruise his head.  God has given us the upper hand.  There is no temptation that we can not overcome if we turn to God.  But many people flirt with Satan to the point where they are consumed.

It reminds me of a story I recently heard in the news.  In Nevada there are hundreds of abandoned mine shafts dotting the state.  They are usually fenced off and marked as extremely dangerous.  In the news we were told of a man who ventured too close and fell into one of these mines dropping over 100 feet.  When the rescue team arrived they saw that he was still barely alive after the fall, but they could not reach him because of the unstable walls of the mine shaft.  He died at the bottom of the shaft and could not be recovered.  How tragic a story and yet many people today, in a similar way, fail to listen to “God’s warnings” and dangerously flirt with Satan’s enticing.  Never in the history of the world has Satan had more tools at his disposal to destroy the souls of mankind.  With the proliferation of pornography, drugs, homosexuality and removal of God from society, Satan has destroyed many of God’s children.

In my painting, “One Nation Under God”, Satan lurks behind the group of people that represent those whose actions are weakening our country.  Some have found offense at this because I am in some way suggesting these people are Satanic by having Satan with them.  The truth is that just as the painting depicts, they don’t recognize that Satan is even there.  He hides himself in the cloak of intellectualism.  He whispers lies to those who will listen.  He will lead you down a path to sorrow and despair.

In my last painting, “Via Dolorosa”, I have Satan hiding in the crowd.  This is an interesting crowd, made up of those who have had a profound impact on Christianity for both good and evil.  The man in the middle holds up his right hand as he states, “Be still, for I know that Jesus is the Christ.”  This exclamation is directed to all the world and particularly to Satan himself.  If we are true to our witness of Christ at all times, he will not have power over us.  

 Click image to learn more about the Via Dolorosa painting

Painting Success

I was interviewed last week by this young man from a local campus newspaper.  I thought he did a good job of telling my story.  Thank you, Robert Burnside, for taking a stand among your peers where Liberalism is the norm.

Painting Success, by Robert Burnside

The word, “success,” can be defined millions of different ways, although the basic meaning is generally understood. It is something everyone desires, something many people spend countless amounts of the most important commodities attempting to achieve. Its price tag frequently causes seekers to look elsewhere for something more affordable, however cheap imitations never offer the same satisfaction. 

In 2008 a middle-aged Christian artist named Jon McNaughton adjusted the typical comfortable subject of his paintings to better meet his personal price tag of success. The content of McNaughton’s art was previously serene landscapes and Christian in nature, however a powerful experience caused McNaughton to add another element into his art… politics. 

McNaughton, whose conservative political views had never been visible in his artwork, sat in his studio on the second floor of the Provo Towne Centre mall during the 2008 Presidential election. He leaned forward in his chair placing his elbows on his knees and head in his hands, with his eyes closed he uttered a silent prayer saying, “Lord, what can I do? I’m just an artist.” McNaughton then briefly opened his eyes, and looked in the direction of his easel to see an elaborate painting containing more than 50 specific figures, “wholly completed, all details. I saw it for about 10 seconds, the name of the painting came into my mind, then I sketched it out as fast as I could as much as I could remember.”  

The title that came into McNaughton’s mind, “One Nation Under God.” The image that accompanied it was much different from the previous landscape paintings he was familiar with. Standing front and center was Jesus Christ holding The Constitution, behind him were multiple historical figures including many of the founding fathers of The United States, as well as multiple U.S. soldiers from different time periods, in the foreground were common relatable figures in today’s world including a student, a mother, a lawyer, a farmer, a politician, and others. The message was unmistakable, The Constitution, a holy document endorsed by Christ, was not being treated as such. McNaughton asks the viewers to place themselves in the painting, where would they fit in the foreground? 

The reaction to, “One Nation Under God” was something that McNaughton never expected, “It stirred up the bees nest,” he said, “which I never planned on happening… I expected liberals to dismiss it, and conservatives to say, ‘right on!’” The painting received international attention. To say liberals dismissed it would be a dramatic understatement.  

“One Nation Under God” has been no stranger to liberal media including the Huffington Post, Mother Jones, and the Bill Maher show, all of which criticized the painting in one way or another. The painting has been the subject of many satire paintings, mocking its message. 

“It’s really been a lightning rod to the left.” Said McNaughton, “I think there’s a double standard in the art world… You can express yourself as a liberal painter, but if you express yourself as a conservative painter they trash you.” The trashing McNaughton speaks of stems from the much-debated religious affiliation of many of the Founding Fathers in the background of the painting. Critics are quick to point out that many of the Founding Fathers were deists, and did not profess traditional Christian beliefs. 

McNaughton’s response, “I was not suggesting that there should be no separation of church and state or that all the Founding Fathers were Christian,” he says. “I just meant to say that the Constitution was divinely inspired and that the Founders believed society should be based on Judeo-Christian values at its core.” 

Click on image to learn more

While McNaughton’s statement about the unfair treatment of conservative artists is commonly true among leftists, the painting has received considerable praise from right-wing conservatives, including many that are not part of his typical Latter-Day Saint following. As a result of the painting McNaughton has had the opportunity to speak to many large groups such as the Knights of Columbus. He has been featured as an artist on multiple local news outlets, his YouTube video explaining the painting has reached over three-million hits, and the painting which went on sale in October of 2009 is still the current top-seller among his other successful paintings. 

“One Nation Under God” can also be viewed as the figurative spark that led to McNaughton’s other successful paintings which mingle religion and politics. Another painting by McNaughton that has had its fair share of controversy is, “The Forgotten Man” which portrays a middle-aged man sitting on a bench with his head down, a trail of money and amendments lead to the constitution itself lying beneath the foot of current U.S. President Barrack Obama stubbornly folding his arms, in front of an audience of all the past Presidents of the United States, each with different reactions. 

One angry individual entered McNaughton’s studio and exclaimed, “Whenever you mix religion and politics, that is not art!” McNaughton responded by saying, “I think that’s exactly what art is.”  

McNaughton stands firmly behind his paintings and the ideals they represent, unapologetically stating, “As an artist you have to be true to yourself, and this is who I am, I’m a religious person, I’m a political person, and I love art… I’m not trying to be anything different than who I am.” 

Through the thick lenses of his glasses, the price tag of success for Jon McNaughton reads, “A painting that causes someone to think and feel.” A desire to communicate ideas and feelings motivates this humble artist. Whether you agree with the messages in his paintings or stand in strong opposition, he succeeds.

What Did Obama Do That Is Unconstitutional?

Obama rode into power on the slogan of “change”, and change we have, but is it what the American people had in mind?  Mr. President, you took an oath, “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  Mr. President, what have you done?

Click on image to enlarge

(This information was written at the time "The Forgotten Man) was released.  Some statistical numbers have changed and Obama has since added to his list!)

1.  You signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  But now we can see that the administration’s trillion-dollar stimulus plan clearly is not working.  Both the Constitution and history are witnesses that testify that the Stimulus Plan is both a federal usurpation of power and economically misguided.  It may very well cause another "catastrophe." You promised that this plan would create jobs immediately and keep the unemployment rate below eight percent. We are now at about 9.5%.  Americans are asking, “Where are the jobs?”  With 14.6 million people officially jobless, and 5.9 million who have stopped looking but say they want a job, and 8.5 million who are working part time but would like to work full time, you end up with nearly 30 million Americans who cannot find the work they want and desperately need.  The ARRA is primarily designed not to stimulate the economy, but to build the size and scope of government.  Government spending plans do not stimulate the economy. They are based on the idea that feeding “new” money into the economy will create economic growth.  But the money isn’t new—it’s either taxed or borrowed.  It's essentially redistributed from one group of people to another, and no new money is created.  And also, State governors, looking down the gun barrel of long-term spending forced on them by your “stimulus” plan, are saying they will refuse to take the money.  This is a Constitutional confrontation between the federal government and the states unlike any in our time. 

2.  You signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. The federal government is now forcing Americans to buy health insurance. Even with the disapproval of the American majority you pushed through what we call “Obamacare.” Over 20 states are now suing the federal government over your health reform law. This law began the process to socialize America's health care system.  It forces Americans to buy health insurance from a private company against our will.

3.  You appointed over thirty Czars without any Congressional oversight to control every aspect of the country.

   

4.  You intervened in the troubled automotive industry, renewing loans for General Motors and Chrysler Corporation to continue operations while reorganizing. Over the following months the White House set terms for both firms' bankruptcies, including reorganization of GM giving the U.S. government a temporary 60% equity stake in the company.  Where in the Constitution does it say the government can do that?

5.  You signed into law the popular Car Allowance Rebate System, known popularly as "Cash for Clunkers.”  In the middle of our country’s worst financial crisis you give out freebees with taxpayer dollars?

6. You used your executive powers to shakedown British Petroleum after the oil leak catastrophe in the Gulf to create the $20-billion escrow (slush!) fund without any law, legal controls, or binding rules to guide it on how and how much those injured materially by the oil spill (and whom among them) will be paid.

7.  By attacking the forces of Muammar Gaddafi our country has declared war on Libya.  You said it was to protect our national interests.  Unless America is under imminent threat of danger, doesn’t attacking another country require the Congress to ratify such an action? Members of your own party have stated that you have acted unconstitutionally.

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8.  You believe that the Constitution is a living, breathing document.  I thought that the only way to change the Constitution was to amend it?  It’s not all your fault, Mr. President.  If Congress and the Supreme Court did their job properly you would have been checked and balanced.

McNaughton Art GIVEAWAY!!!

YES!, we’re doing it again.  In appreciation to our best fans we are giving away some of our most popular prints.  In order to enter this contest only two things are required…

First… Be a new or existing Follower of the McNaughton Blog.  Be sure to leave a comment on the blog stating your real name (blog names can be hard to identify for purposes of naming a winner!)

Second…  Change your profile image on Facebook to one of Jon’s paintings for the duration of the contest.  To prove that you did this, write a comment on my Facebook post stating why you chose this image.

This contest will run until Friday the 25^th and the winners will be announced Saturday the 26^th!

There will be a first and second prize awarded.  Each print will be personally signed by the artist!

***FIRST PRIZE:  Choose TWO of your favorite McNaughton 10X15 prints from the following list:  One Nation Under God, The Forgotten Man, Via Dolorosa, Peace is Coming, Parting the Veil, Awaiting the Command.

***SECOND PRIZE:  Choose ONE of your favorite McNaughton 10X15 prints from the same list as above. (To view images visit the photos on Facebook)


GOOD LUCK!!!