John McNaughton

artist web site
http://www.mcnaughtonart.com/page/collections

the forgotten man by john mcnaughton

article about the artist

Sales Soar For Controversial Obama Painting After Story Goes Viral

By Peter V. Milo

Provo, Utah (CBS Las Vegas) -- Sales soared for a painting depicting Obama trampling on the Constitution after a story CBS Las Vegas produced last weekend went viral.
John McNaughton’s “The Forgotten Man” sold in one day “what we would sell in three months.”
The amount of traffic the story generated even crashed his website.
“I hate to think of the sales I lost with the site being down, but I’m pleased that the message got out,” he told CBS Las Vegas.
His webmaster needed to increase the amount of bandwidth for the site four times before it went back up Saturday night.
While sales of the painting went up, McNaughton said he got reactions from a “mixed bag of people” over the story.
“People really loved the painting and some were really angry,” he told CBS Las Vegas. “Our country is really divided and emotions run high on both sides of the aisle.”
Because of the delicate subject matter raised in his art, McNaughton was often accused of racism.

“I think racism is a legitimate issue. But I think if you want to speak out against Obama and his policies is one thing, but being called a racist gets tiresome when it has nothing to do with the painting.”
McNaughton was hesitant to paint “The Forgotten Man” before it was released in 2010, but “pushed to do it” despite his friends’ reservations.
Since “The Forgotten Man” was released, McNaughton painted what he described as “a sequel.”
The painting is called “Wake Up America” and it features “The Forgotten Man” trying to saw himself out of the chains of debt.
Throughout the tableau there are faces of sadness, blame, and desperation. President Obama is also prominently featured as a ring leader to the madness.
McNaughton also did another painting called “Via Dolorosa” in which historical figures bear witness to Jesus’ crucifixion.
“A lot of it has to do with modern day Christians and where they stand in history,” McNaughton said about the painting.
As for his next work, McNaughton is keeping the details under wraps.
“It’s called ‘One Nation Under Socialism.’ It’s political, but I want to keep it under my hat. I want to surprise people so there are no misconceptions.”
“One Nation Under Socialism” will be released in about a month.
Provo, Utah (CBS Las Vegas) -- Sales soared for a painting depicting Obama trampling on the Constitution after a story CBS Las Vegas produced last weekend went viral.
John McNaughton’s “The Forgotten Man” sold in one day “what we would sell in three months.”
The amount of traffic the story generated even crashed his website.
“I hate to think of the sales I lost with the site being down, but I’m pleased that the message got out,” he told CBS Las Vegas.
His webmaster needed to increase the amount of bandwidth for the site four times before it went back up Saturday night.
While sales of the painting went up, McNaughton said he got reactions from a “mixed bag of people” over the story.
“People really loved the painting and some were really angry,” he told CBS Las Vegas. “Our country is really divided and emotions run high on both sides of the aisle.”
Because of the delicate subject matter raised in his art, McNaughton was often accused of racism.

“I think racism is a legitimate issue. But I think if you want to speak out against Obama and his policies is one thing, but being called a racist gets tiresome when it has nothing to do with the painting.”
McNaughton was hesitant to paint “The Forgotten Man” before it was released in 2010, but “pushed to do it” despite his friends’ reservations.
Since “The Forgotten Man” was released, McNaughton painted what he described as “a sequel.”
The painting is called “Wake Up America” and it features “The Forgotten Man” trying to saw himself out of the chains of debt.
Throughout the tableau there are faces of sadness, blame, and desperation. President Obama is also prominently featured as a ring leader to the madness.
McNaughton also did another painting called “Via Dolorosa” in which historical figures bear witness to Jesus’ crucifixion.
“A lot of it has to do with modern day Christians and where they stand in history,” McNaughton said about the painting.
As for his next work, McNaughton is keeping the details under wraps.
“It’s called ‘One Nation Under Socialism.’ It’s political, but I want to keep it under my hat. I want to surprise people so there are no misconceptions.”
“One Nation Under Socialism” will be released in about a month.