painting flags...

I love the colors of red, white, and blue so much that is the colors of my home. So of course I am going to love what Scott Lobaido is doing to the roofs all over the country and what it has done to his outlook ...

Sept. 8, 2006 — When New York City artist Scott Lobaido looks at a roof, what he sees is a canvas, a canvas he fills with his unabashed affection for the American flag and the veterans who have served under it.

"I'm a crazy New York City artist living in America, and I pretty much have more freedom than most people do in the entire world," Lobaido says. "It's a big, fat greeting card saying, Thank you!"
And as thanks, he paints the flags for free.

"It's not pro-war, anti-war. It's about these men and women who step up to the plate. It's about the patriotic glue, this glue that keeps us all together regardless of our ideology," he says.

For years in New York, Lobaido's art stoked controversy. It was the work of an angry patriot who wanted to provoke. But since 9/11, Lobaido has been rethinking his stance. And what he believes now is that true patriotism is less "in your face" and more from the heart.

"I don't think there's ever too much patriotism. Especially now," he says.

Now he's painting the flag in all 50 states, which is no easy journey. He's making the mission in a patched-up old Chevrolet Suburban with no air conditioning. He calls his truck Betsy.
fr:person of the week

I love his Betsy all decked out in flag colors! Good choice of name from the lady who created and sewed our first flag. Bravo!

Sept 11: '06 top 100