Creative Evangelism Downtown

I have lived in Watertown, Wisconsin, almost my entire life, and I've always noticed these

beautiful painted banners when we would drive to school in the mornings. My mom is an

amazing artist, and so I always wanted her to make one. The only problem was that we never knew how to sign up so that we could do so.

Two years ago, in the springtime, my Pathfinder Club (the Watertown Sentinels) started working toward the Artificial Intelligence Honor. It was very interesting to see the different ways people utilize artificial intelligence. The person who taught us the honor was an artist from our community, and he told us that he used artificial intelligence in his own artwork. He would put an idea into the computer and then he would choose multiple ideas that he liked and put them together. Then he would make sure that there were no other artists he was accidentally copying. Finally, he would paint the idea. He told us that he uses this method for the banners he paints on Main Street in Watertown. My mom and I looked at each other.

After he was done teaching everyone the honor, my mom and I asked if there were any more available banners and if there was a way we could sign up to get one. He told us that he had a banner and that he didn’t have enough time to make his. He decided to give us his so we could make one, which we thought was very nice of him. He told us what kinds of paint to use and that he was the person who seals the paintings before they get hung up. That year, I made a banner that had a Pathfinder uniform on one side and Jesus with some Pathfinders and Adventurers on the other side.

Last year, I placed 3rd in the Young Painters Division. The paintings get sold in a silent auction, but I was lucky enough to buy my banner back. I gave the banner to the Wisconsin Conference Youth Department, and they placed it in the Wakonda Cabin as a display. I think it is nice to see my banner with all of the other Pathfinder memorabilia in the cabin.

This year, I decided I wanted to make another banner. I for sure wanted to paint Adam and Eve on one side. I wasn’t sure what I wanted for the opposite side. I finally settled on painting Jesus' Second Coming. I wanted it to look similar to one of my favorite artists, Nathan Greene’s depictions of the Second Coming. In the end, it didn’t look anything like I had hoped, but I was pretty happy with how the Adam and Eve side came out because I painted some really cute animals, like a raccoon, opossum, swans, and a bunch of other animals. I decided to call this banner The Beginning and the End because, well, it was the beginning (Creation) and the end (Second Coming)!

This year’s auction was not a silent one; it was quite the opposite! It was a very loud auction, and the paintings weren’t selling for thirty to forty dollars anymore; they were selling for a ton of money! So I wasn’t able to get my banner back because someone else bought it for ninety-five dollars! That’s a lot of money! I hope they liked it, and I hope that it will help people who see it think about Jesus. I enjoy painting for the Main Street program. I hope people will see the banners and look up what they might be about. I’m planning on making another one next year, but I don’t know what it will be about yet!