It's a simple painting. Entitled "In God We Trust," the acrylic painting by Tamara "Tammy" Schneider of Waltham, depicts a pair of hands folded on an American flag.

In its simplicity, though, it is captivating and moving.

For that reason, along with other criteria, such as color, balance and technical proficiency in design and perspective, it was chosen as one of 13 winners (out of 700 entries) in the Fredrix Artist Canvas "Spirit of America" art competition featured in "The Artist Magazine."

"The contest was offered in the December issue (of the magazine) and I thought, 'shoot, maybe I'll give it a try,'" Schneider said. "So, I went to my Dad's and I posed him with an American flag. I shot two rolls of film and after they were developed, the one were I zoomed in on his hands was the one I decided to paint."

After entering the painting, Schneider said "I kinda forgot about it and then they called at the end of April and said I was one of the winners. I was very happy and surprised."

The idea to paint her father and a flag was one "that just came to me. There are so many other angles that are taken, but I kinda like nostalgic things. I like painting old people and capturing the way time has aged them, has tempered them."

She said her father, Harlen Renner of LeRoy, "was concerned with everything that's been happening and this shows the way he feels, too. He's happy (about Schneider's painting being one of the competition's winners), he thinks it's pretty nice. He's 90 and was a little puzzled as to why I wanted to take pictures of his hands, though."

Schneider has been painting since she was very young and has never had any formal training in art, except for a few classes she's taken along the way. "It's something I've always had … my mother liked to draw and sketch, too," she says. "I think when you're born with something like that, you aren't as appreciative of it until it hits you that it's not something everyone can do. It's a thrill to do it for other people … it gives joy."

Her talent and passion have also captured the attention of the Cooperative Resource Center (CRC) of Austin, who have asked her to paint a four-panel mural for their new office.

Schneider recently did a similar project for the Freeborn-Mower County Electrical Cooperative and says she thinks that's where the CRC got the idea to have her paint the mural. Each panel of the CRC mural will represent a different season of the land and wildlife around the new building. She is nearly complete with the first panel – a scene of spring which includes a group of wild turkeys.

Though painting may come naturally to her, creating a scene to paint takes some effort. "It's a lot of work, if you do right. You have to take lots and lots of photos and look for reference material," Schneider says. "You gotta know your subjects in order to paint them, just like those wild turkeys. I didn't know much about them before, but I think I'm learning quite a bit."

She doesn't see the project as a chore but as a pleasure. "It's very relaxing. The hours fly by. I'll sit down, thinking I'll work for a half-hour, and before I know it, three hours go by," she says. "Time flies when you're having fun with it."

Amanda L. Rohde can be reached at 434-2214 or by e-mail at :mailto: amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com