Common Sense: Thomas Jefferson and the Philosophy of Freedom Dec. 21, 2010

HOPE YOU'LL TAKE TIME TO READ THIS...

Thomas Jefferson was a very remarkable man who started learning very early in life and never stopped.

At 5, began studying under his cousins tutor.

At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.

At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.

At 16, entered the College of William and Mary.

At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.

At 23, started his own law practice.

At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.

At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America " and retired from his law practice.

At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.

At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence.

At 33, took three years to revise Virginia 's legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom

At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry.

At 40, served in Congress for two years.

At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.

At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.

At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.

At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican Party.

At 57, was elected the third president of the United States .

At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation's size.

At 61, was elected to a second term as President.

At 65, retired to Monticello .

At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.

At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its first president.

At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence along with John Adams

Thomas Jefferson knew because he-himself studied the previous failed attempts at government. He understood actual history, the nature of God, his laws and the nature of man That happens to be waaay more than what most understand today. Jefferson really knew his stuff. A voice from the past to lead us in the future:

John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time.. He made this statement:" This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe , we shall become as corrupt as Europe. Thomas Jefferson

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. Thomas Jefferson

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. Thomas Jefferson

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. Thomas Jefferson

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. Thomas Jefferson

No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.� Thomas Jefferson

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. Thomas Jefferson

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants..� Thomas Jefferson

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:
I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered..

I wish we could get this out to everyone!!!

I'm doing my part. Please do yours.

Happy Go Lucky Artist. April 12, 2010

Kenny Frost was only 24 years old (considered an old man by his flying comrades). An art student, who in 1942, studied art and played football at L.A.C.C., with my Mom's future fiance', Bob Ketron, and coincidentally, my former Jordan Jr. High School P.E. Coach, the late Raul Regalado,

This was just some of the information I ascertained over what would take close to two years of investigative work in order to get the full story of the "Batlin' Bet" and of why he named his plane after her.

In my youth I'd already done a couple of drawings and paintings of Kenny Frost's Plane, including an illustration (not a very good one), showing the airplane in action strafing a locomotive. The Kenny Frost, and the "Batlin' Bet" was a part of the Allies' victorious WWII effort. I was proud of that.

How could I honor Betty and Kenny?

My mom, was in some way, what brought Kenny good luck. At least he believed so. Naming an aircraft after a particular woman held some sort of hope or wishful thinking. The "Batlin' Bet", got Kenny back home, safely, after flying 50 combat missions; including escort missions over Ploesti Oil Fields, and strafing missions in which he destroyed four locomotives, and one aircraft on the ground.

It was this action which eventually earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross--Posthumously.

I started to dig deeper...

Kenny and his Hand Painted Nose Art, "BATLIN'BET'
Foggia, Italy, 1943

Tight Formation; The Art of Flying. April 1, 2010

And here they come. The three aircraft flying wingtip to wingtip flew right overhead at a high rate of speed. It was an awesome sight. These pilots were artists in their own right, flying effortlessly and skilfully with precision, in the same aircraft which were designed to wipe each other out, and dominate the skies.

First of all, it was rare to see them flying as they were over sixty years old (for the most part). Second of all, seeing them fly by together in peace time invokes the imagination, passion, and appreciation for the simple freedom to fly.

I was so proud to have this moment in time to celebrate the birth of my painting.

Unknowingly, there was more to follow!

Photo by Eric Van Gilder

Let the show begin! March 19, 2010

Ya Gotta start somewhere.

In oil painting one paints from dark to light, or masses in the darkest values to the lightest values. I don't paint the darkest values as dark as they appear; I make them slightly lighter. I don't paint the lighter values as light as they appear; I make them darker. This way the painting can develop in "Middle Key" value range.

Every brush stroke I lay in is in anticipation of the highlights to come.
Their contrast or "Pop" will be determined by the values and intensity of the color(s) adjacent to them.

I know this seems technical, but it's critical that the first strokes are right in every manner because every subsequent stroke will be determined by and related back to them. In the case of this photo, from the very start I am laying in the mass which will be in contrast to the highlights on the spinner of the front P-40.

If the values are right, the colors will be right, and the painting will take on a holographic 3-D effect.

Ruptured Duck in Progress March 3, 2010

I often tell my students, "One should be able to paint from inside a phone booth if they have to". In other words; it's not always about surrounding yourself with a comfort zone in order to create a work of art.

Sometimes I paint in edgy locations to achieve a heightened state of awareness, other times such as this, I spent eight or so hours leaning over the horizontal stabilizer of the aircraft in order to paint the logo. Needless to say, it was extremely difficult to achieve this painting due to the strange contortion of my body over long periods of time.

But, "No pain, no gain."

It is all worth it, and now the CAF has a new work of art decorating one of their warbirds, and I contributed to make a difference.

Photo by Dan Newcomb

Happy Birthday Betty Lee: Feb 9, 2010

Betty Lee Tucker. Feb. 9, 1925.

This picture showed up this last Christmas '09. It depicts my Mom and my Dad in late 1944-45 just as the great WWII was drawing to a close. My Dad had come in to San Pedro on his last ship, the S.S. Mission San Diego, and had taken leave to visit my Mom, living on Alexandria Street in Hollywood California. Lt. jg. Jimmy Stein was 22, Betty was 20 at the time of this photo.

He'd been at sea for 6 months straight, returning from the war in the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, and Madagascar.

She'd been doing the best she could to cope with the loss of her brother, Bill Tucker, and Fiancee' Bob Ketron. Both were best of friends, both pilots, both killed in flying accidents twenty days apart. During the war, Betty lost 7 close guy friends, all pilots.

Betty was a tough catch. Much sought after for dating; she was always 'booked' when my Dad came into port. I think this was the one date he'd reserved 6 months in advance to get. Little did they know then they would start and raise a family of five boys, and a monkey! Who would have known they'd be married for almost 64 years now!

They shot us all from the same bow, and me; the youngest boy? They have supported me to follow my bliss as an artist. I put them through hell (with all my accidents) while I was growing up. They put me through college in order to refine my artistic vision and skills.

I do pay homage to both my parents for the genetic lineage they've given me. The lineage of unlimited possibility.

Happy 85th Birthday Mom.

Love,

#5

For the Love of Dad Jan 27, 2010

My father was a Merchant Marine in WWII. I remember him telling us some stories about when he would travel around the world in an Oil Tanker; going to places like the Persian Gulf, Ulithi, Townsville, Australia, Hawaii. It all sounded romantic and adventurous enough. But as I got older I dug a little deeper into his life and what he really did in the great World War II. I learned a few more details like; He achieved the rank of 2ND Mate, sailing on five T-2 "Mission Class" tankers during the war.

Yes, he traveled to exotic far off lands; but hardly ever in a convoy. They shipped out mostly as a lone tanker; because their payload was High Grade Aviation Fuel. If he were in a convoy while carrying this fuel, and they were torpedoed, chances are many other ships would also be destroyed due to the volatility of the high octane. So needless to say, for four years straight, he would be at sea, sometimes for six months, floating around on a time bomb, watching his youth pass before his eyes.

He didn't fight the war at the front, but was nearly torpedoed while serving in the Indian Ocean while supplying the Flying Tigers in Burma. He also survived the Great Typhoon of 1944 barely getting out of Ulithi; where he said it was, "all ships for themselves" to get out of the harbor, then encountering 100ft waves in the storm.

A few years ago I was watching Huell Howser's California's Gold. Huell was doing a special on the Ghost Fleet in Sui Sun Bay up near San Francisco. After gaining access to the ships of historic note Huell pointed out this one lone ship off in the distance. The cameraman panned across the bay to one lone Tanker resting at anchor. It was the "Mission Santa Ines"; the last surviving Mission Class T-2 tanker left in existence from WWII. When I saw this ship, I immediately called my brother, Jerry, in San Lorenzo, and convinced him to come with me to go see this ship.

A week later, I drove up to the Bay area from Santa Barbara, and together he and I drove to the little harbor at Martinez. It was early morning, and we met some man who just returned from fishing in his small fishing boat. I hired him for a price of $75.00 to take Jerry and me out to the Ghost fleet off shore. We spent two and a half hours putting around and roaming in and out of the rows of mothballed rust buckets; all once-proud vessels that served our nation gallantly during WWII and afterwards.

It was dawn, and breezy. We circled around the ship two or three times very slowly. I was excited to be viewing this relic from the past; in 3-D!! After snapping off a few rolls of film, we saw all we needed to see of the Mission Santa Ines, sitting all by herself, destitute, in the windswept brackish waters of the Bay. Her better days gone by, only the ship's log, wherever it is, recollects her journey. As I only had a few days left before my father's 80th birthday, I headed back home to SB and got to work on his birthday present.

This painting represents the last surviving Mission Class Tanker from WWII. Though it isn't one of the specific ships my father served on, it still represent the class of ship he sacrificed much of his youth, for in service to our country. I honor him for this.

Sadly, the latest word is this vessel is now doomed to be scraped for its steel. No one will ever see the likes of this kind of vessel ever again in the history of the world. It will now only be seen in movies, photographs, and paintings...

Happy Birthday Dad!

The Last Mission Tanker 12"x12" oil, 1998