Painting at the First Inauguration of President Obama

In winter of 2009 I brought my easel and oil paints to Washington DC and negotiated cold weather and thick crowds to create a painting of the people at the inauguration of President Obama.

It is my intention to organize at least a thousand artists to create art live at the US presidential inauguration in 2013 no matter who is president. The sole purpose would be to inspire people to make art (and not to denigrate or celebrate any future president and political party.

I am grateful that I didn't get a ticket to the inauguration as I would not have experienced being amidst the millions of people and creating this very unique and valuable painting, "The People Watching The Inauguration". I found myself being with multitudes who could hear the inauguration but not see it. The mood was both reverent and celebratory. See the letter I wrote to President Obama before the inauguration.