The First American

This is one of my all time heroes Ben Franklin. I'm from Pennsylvania, and growing up close to Philadelphia, all us kids would be told how great Ben Franklin was, but I didn't really believe it until much later.

I think it was something like 3rd grade we all went on a field trip the "city of brotherly love" and went to visit all the sites: the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and Betsy Ross's house. Then when we thought the day was over, the teacher walked us up to a fence and showed us a slab of concrete on the ground. She told us it was Ben Franklin's grave! That's when I knew he was a real person! We threw pennies on the grave and moved on, but Ben stuck with me...

Later in school we were told more about Mr. Franklin. He would schedule out every second of every day to be as efficient as he could including baths, time with his wife, and prayer. I vowed to do that very thing... Years later, I don't schedule out every second, but as my friends can attest, I get close!

Last year PBS aired a really cool documentary all about him and it rejuvenated my interest in Mr. Franklin. He invented a whole bunch of cool stuff just from tinkering around his house, and having a curious mind. He was a scholar, printer, diplomat, writer, and revolutionary.

He was called "The First American" because up to that point in history, everyone living in the colonies were thought of as citizens of England. He was born in America and got a lot of world recognition for his inventions, discoveries, and diplomacy. So he might not have technically been the very first american, but he the world regocognized him as such...

2006 his 300th birthday and I needed to do something to celebrate the guy...

The next two paintings are based on his inventions...