This painting took a year to complete. A new digital background has been added to improve the color of it. Lots of research and planning went into it. The rough sketches kept changing. The painting includes traditional American symbols and icons. President George Washington takes center stage as the "Father of our Country". I used the sculpture of Washington done by the French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon as a reference for this painting of him. Washington sat for wet clay life models and a plaster life mask for Houdon. These plaster and clay models served for many commissions of Washington. Under the portrait of Washington is a typical American patriotic crest. To the left of him is America's national symbol, the Bald Eagle. Below the eagle is a statue of "The Minuteman", sculpted by Daniel Chester French in 1875. Unveiled for the Centennial celebration of the Battle of Concord on April 19, 1875, It is an American icon and has stood guard over this hallowed ground ever since. It is set near the spot where the first colonial militia men were killed in Concord on that fateful day in 1775. French was also the sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. To the left of him is America's national symbol. the Bald Eagle. In the upper right is "The Statue of Liberty" that was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel. The bottom right shows the famous "Liberty Bell" cast by metalworkers John Pass and John Stow who melted down the original bell and cast a new one in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The background is the famous American revolutionary flag. Betsy Ross is credited with sewing the first United States flag. A symbol of patriotism, Ross is often celebrated as the woman who helped George Washington finish the design.