Do You Know Jesus?

Someone sent me the following letter:
AFTER READING THE EMAIL I GOT WITH YOUR PAINTING AND YOUR COMMENTS, I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION FOR YOU. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION YOU WILL EVER BE ASKED AND YOUR ANSWER WILL DETERMINE WHERE YOU WILL SPEND ETERNITY............DO YOU KNOW JESUS CHRIST AS YOU PERSONAL SAVIOR?
> THE PAINTING IS BEAUTIFUL....A GOD GIVEN TALENT YOU HAVE SIR.

Thank you.  That is a question that applies to all of us.  I believe that each individual at some point has to decide whether they accept Jesus as their Savior.  It is a personal realization and goes beyond simply speaking the words.  In answer to your question, yes, I know Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. But this answer only has meaning between me and God.  I believe to know Christ is to do the works of Christ.  I found this scripture that I have applied to myself:  2 Timothy 2:19-26 (remarkable scripture)

Pushing Towards Socialism?

I was asked the following question:

Under the #2 explanation information of the painting, you state, “Except for the pregnant woman, these are people who pushed our country toward Socialism.”  I don’t understand why you would say that.  Please explain.  Thank you.

This is a good question.  My first thought was, “How can I answer this briefly without outraging a political science instructor?”  The people in the bottom right corner could be of any political persuasion.  I use these metaphorical figures to highlight what I consider to be some of the problems we face in America today.  When I talk about socialism I am referring to a government which would have ownership or control of all means of production and distribution.  This is obviously the antithesis of a free market society.  I believe those who are proponents of a larger federal government advocate “taking from the haves and giving to the have nots.”  The Constitution is a standard for equal rights, not equal things.  Our country has been steadily moving toward a socialistic form of government and this is alarming to most conservatives.  When I say, “These are people who have pushed our country toward socialism” I am referring to the liberal mindset that believes in more federal government control. 

Click on image to learn more.

Painting Borders On Fascist?

As the title of your painting suggests, ours is "One Nation Under God" -- not "One Nation Under Christ" as your painting depicts. At best, your painting is offensive to non-Christians or those who exercise their right not to believe in the God. At worst, the painting borders on fascist. I guess this just goes to prove one thing -- that fundamentalism is not restricted to just to regions like the Middle East and countries like Yemen. It is alive and well in the US of A.  I pray that you will see the light -- that history has proven that mixing religion into politics is a lethal combination. I would have though that 9/11 had proven that.
Rev. Fr. Anastasios Gounaris
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Christian Church

This is an interesting perspective coming from a Christian minister.  Are you not familiar with our country’s Christian roots?  The symbolism of Christ holding the Constitution should not be offensive if you believe the Constitution was divinely inspired.  And then you state that that the painting “borders on Fascist?”  Fascism is where the state becomes more important than the individual, usually with a military run authoritarian government—the exact opposite of a Republic! Fundamentalism is a strict coherence to one’s beliefs.  In an age of compromise we need more good Americans to stand up for what they believe in. 

Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged

I get angry letters on a regular basis from confused people regarding my painting, "One Nation Under God."  Here is one letter followed by a short response from me:


So EVERY politician, judge (which I am, thank you), and hollywood professional is automatically "left wing" and awful and on the wrong side? What about the philanthropists in these groups? Without these "liberals" there would be many starving, homeless and orphaned people in this world. Nice concept for art, but your random "grouping" and mass condemnations are not worthy of print. A lot of those you randomly put on the "wrong" side are very good Christ-loving people. P.S. Where are Jesus' family of Messianic Jews depicted?


If a man wearing black leather, chains and covered with tattoos was charged with a crime in your court, would you immediately think he was guilty? If you had taken only a few minutes to read my comments you would find the true intention of these symbolic figures. There are good philanthropists (and Jews) from all walks of life, but that wasn’t the point of the painting.

Click image to learn more.

ORIGINAL ART GIVEAWAY!!!

By way of appreciation I will be giving away one of my original drawings to one of my Facebook fans! (CONTEST RULES BELOW)

In this contest I will give away the ORIGINAL DRAWING titled, “I was touched.”  This is not a print…it’s the real deal! 

The inspiration for this drawing comes from Luke Chapter 8:46-48

"And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me:  for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.  And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she was healed immediately.  And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort:  thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace."

For me, this is one of the most touching moments in the Bible and I plan some day to paint it.  Drawings like this help me to start the process of creation and seeing it in my mind.  I hope that this will be a worthy gift to whoever wins.  


(Contest ended July 24, 2011)
Thank you to all who participated.  We will give away more special items in the future!

Beautifully Simple and Simply Beautiful

Next Monday I will be going into seclusion as I begin my newest painting.  The title will be, "Wake Up America."  I want this painting to create a shocking visual truth of what is happening in our country and hopefully wake up more Americans as to what is at stake.

I look around me and I am utterly amazed at the apathy and denial of many Americans as they refuse to deal with the debt crisis our country is facing. Congress has made no headway in dealing with this issue.  In April the Congress was only able to agree to 36.5 billion in spending cuts.

Our gross debt has increased over $500 billion each year since fiscal year (FY) 2003, with increases of $1 trillion in FY2008, $1.9 trillion in FY2009, and $1.7 trillion in FY2010.  Together with the budget deficit, this debt was one of the reasons given by Standard and Poors to downgrade the United States' credit outlook to "negative" on April 18, 2011.

We simply cannot curb our spending in Washington.  We must make significant changes to the way our country runs the federal government.  But too many are chained to their entitlement spending mentality and will not tolerate the government taking away anything they feel is owed to them.  We feel that the federal government must babysit every aspect of our lives.  Americans need to grow up.

In the next sixteen months I will offer some solutions in both a visual and multi-media manner as to how we can take our country from where we are now, to where it would be incredibly prosperous.  My ideas will sometimes sound familiar and other times be completely unheard of, but know this:  the correct answer is often the most simple and that which is beautifully simple is in my opinion simply beautiful. 

Stay tuned...first painting will be released October 1st!

One Nation Under God on TV

I am asking for some help with a special TV commercial we are doing for my painting One Nation Under God.  It will be aired across the country beginning this August. 

If you own a print of my painting One Nation Under God we would like to include you in the commercial sharing your feelings about the image; what it means to you.  I will give those who participate a free signed print of one of my paintings.  If you live in Utah or are close enough to travel to the studio location I would be grateful.  The day of the TV filming is Wednesday, June 22nd.  It will take only 30 minutes.  If you are interested please e-mail us at mcnaughtonart@msn.com.  Leave your name and phone number and we will call you.  Thank you for your help with our effort.

Sincerely,
Jon McNaughton