I draw for a living (if I can sell anything as I started doing it full time after my wonderful mother went to Jesus) and am a proud Clan Morrison named Matthew Morrison. Like most artist I love the South. I also find it difficult outside of Soviet Art to find an artist who loves every aspect of his/her government. A discussion with a friend suggested that Virginia was the most Sothern of States instead of Mississippi; however Virginia is a commonwealth and not a state. Also, the affects of the capital tends to make Virginia not so Southern. Ironically, the “Stars and Bars” was created originally in a Virginian Washington suburb. But, that is only one of the peculiarities of Virginia. Virginia goes further west then West Virginia. My favorite element of the state is its Scotch heritage although there was no Scottish battalion to fight for Confederate States of America.  I have never had a chance to visit the State but the secretary at a college near the Florida Georgia border had the luck of the last name of Davis. She had a sign that read, “He was from Mississippi.” If you are interested in buying this drawing, email me at MatthewMorrison76@yahoo.com

­Virginia is very mythological. It is mythical in more than just Ghost; although, they have a lot of them. The flag everything is sitting on is the flag Virginia used when it seceded from the US. Virginia was one of the last states to secede and it was after the first shot. It has someone propping it foot on a king. Ironically the Commonwealths motto is “The Cavalier State.”  (The Cavalier supported the King in the English Civil War.)The hand gun represents the Mythological Jamestown, England’s first settlement in North America, which is on the same national land mark as historic Yorktown where England lost America. The Tobacco leaf in the hat is what made the colony succeed and continues to be main product of the Commonwealth .The grapes in the hat are from Thomas Jefferson bringing wine production to his home from France. The dogwood blossom is next to it which is the state flower. The cavalry hat is from one of Virginia’s greatest generals in the War Between the States Jeb Stuart. It was very unique to him. I drew it about 6 months ago.

In spite the modern charge of racism, the Confederate States of America did have black troops. of In New Orleans, a group of Freeborn Creole blacks made up the Louisiana Native Battalion until New Orleans fell. Toward the end of War, any slave who was willing to fight for the South was given Freedom. The best know Black Southern Solder was Bill “Ten Cent” Yap from Georgia.Sold at the Cliffside Art Collaborative auction May 7 2012.