Flag Artist

[Kgirl]

This man just came to our city here in San Diego and is about to do or already did a house...anyway thought I'd post it

Proud to be an American

February 27,2006

DIANE MOUSKOURIE View stories by reporter

DAILY NEWS STAFF

Fifty American flags. Fifty rooftops. Fifty states.

Scott LoBaido intends to paint one flag on one rooftop in each state, all before Sept. 11. His first stop was Jacksonville.

He hopes this immense project that will take him from state to state will benefit all U.S. veterans by bringing attention to the Wounded Warrior Project and create a welcoming view for the soldiers, Marines and sailors returning from overseas, he said.

“I just wanted to thank the veterans,” he said. “To me every day is Veterans Day.”

The irony is LoBaido, a New York-based artist known for making large, sometimes political, sometimes controversial statements with his artwork, never served in the military.

“I’m serving now,” he said. “This is my way of serving my country.”

The 40-year-old arrived in Jacksonville Friday afternoon. By that evening he was painting his first rooftop on Robin Musselwhite’s house on Myrna Drive in Lauradale Acres; the final painting ceremony will be today at noon at the site where giant red and white stripes were already waving across the roof.

“It’s not just red, white and blue, it’s alive,” he said. “I make it come alive.”

Musselwhite said she was pleased to have her roof painted.

“I’m an Army veteran, and I have a daughter and son-in-law who just returned from Iraq and are due to go back before the end of the year,” Musselwhite said. “After 9/11 people remembered their patriotism for a little while but then they forgot. Veterans and our troops deserve a whole lot more than what they get.”

So far she thinks the roof looks great, she said.

“Letting him paint my roof is my way of expressing even more what our past, present and future veterans are doing for us,” she said.

LoBaido’s first flag had Musselwhite’s neighbors standing outside in awe.

Kevin Bell, who lives two houses down, stood staring. Two children next door kept peering out their living room window.

“That’s the neatest thing I’ve ever seen,” Bell said of the flag.

LoBaido said he picked Jacksonville as his first stop because of its large connection to the military. His next stop will be in South Carolina, maybe Parris Island or Beaufort, he said.

“What I do for the troops is nothing compared to what they’ve done for us,” said LoBaido, a short wiry man filled with excess energy. LoBaido puffs on a Marlboro Light as he takes a break. His hands are covered in bright blue paint as he talks about his love for his country and what he says most Americans forget in their daily lives.

“I come from a city where there’s always a lot of bickering going on, everybody at each others throats,” LoBaido said. “I spent all my money on this trip. It’s my gift, my thank you.”

Everyone forgets how great a country America is, he said.

“It’s good here, real good here,” LoBaido said. “It’s time to step back and remember why it is so good.”

During his journey across America, LoBaido hopes to gain support from veteran groups and businesses to help him continue with the project. He will be documenting each stop and updating his Web site, www.creativepatriot.org, frequently.

As he travels down the road people will notice his 1989 Chevy Suburban with a painted flag emblazoned from front hood to trunk. Posters of his agenda are taped to the windows, a brief summary of the Wounded Warriors Project attached.

“I want to make a connection with people here, who will tell people in other places so the word can get out,” he said.

LoBaido has no intention of making money off the project, he said, but he would appreciate donations being sent to the Wounded Warriers Project or sponsors to help with his estimated $127,000 in expenses.

LoBaido has gained some notoriety in the past for his political beliefs and controversial works like “Have Faith,” a portrait of President Bush hoisting the decapitated head of Osama bin Laden in one hand and the American flag in the other. He’s been arrested, according to CNN reports, “for throwing horse manure at the exterior of the Brooklyn Museum of Art to protest its display of a painting of the Virgin Mary festooned with elephant dung” and “for hanging a large American flag on an awning outside the French Consulate as a sign of protest for what he considered France’s contempt for the U.S.-led war in Iraq.”

LoBaido said such controversial political statements are all in the past. He describes himself as a patriot and an artist, a man who is passionate about what he believes in, nothing more.

“I’ve progressed as an artist and retired from the political aspect,” LoBaido said. “It was just a period in my life. I’ve tested the boundaries of the Constitution and thank God for the men and women who made that possible.

“Now, it’s just about thanking our troops, our veterans and this great country.”

Contact staff writer Diane Mouskourie at dmouskourie@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, Ext. 235.

[Travis]

If he wants to be done by Sept. 11 he had better get a bigger brush.

[Marekdlux]

I saw a story in the paper yesterday (north county times).

He did a place in Escondido.

-Marek

[Erik Sine]

That would be a great conversational piece to have on my roof

[Travis]

Just after 9/11 I got to lead a couple guys in painting a 20'x30'(+/-) flag with 'God Bless America next to it on the metal roof of an RV sales building. It was pretty cool. Nothing but a scaled sketch, tape measures, chalk lines, paint brushes(a little bigger than the one this guy is using) and paint. Back to basics.

The guys helping me thought the process was pretty neat. All they have ever known was vinyl or spray painting. I got to show them how us ole timers did it back in the day.