Albuquerque, N.M ? With the haunting images of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks still fresh in his mind, New Mexico artist John Nieto was starting on a new job: creating a painting for the Olympics.

Nieto sought to depict positive ideas of peace and loyalty words that later became the title of a portrait commissioned for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games.

The assignment was Nieto’s fourth piece destined to be included in the Cultural Olympiad the part of the Olympic games that focuses not on sports, but on sharing the arts.

Last year, Nieto painted three animals to represent the Olympic motto: swifter, higher, stronger. The animals a hare, coyote and bear, called “Olympic Power” are indigenous to the Southwest and were designed to embody the monumental Olympic spirit.

When he got the second call from the Olympiad committee, asking for his reaction to the tragedy, Nieto said he knew exactly what to do.

“The committee asked me if I could represent the ideas of peace and loyalty. Immediately, I thought of an Indian chief, symbolizing the power of a culture. … It wasn’t hard for me to find vehicles to represent this,” he said. “Everybody was really immersed in the emotional reaction to that event, as was I. It was just in the air.”

Native images of dignity

“Peace and Loyalty” depicts a wolf at the feet of an American Indian chief who is wearing a war bonnet and holding an eagle feather. The feather is a detail Nieto calls “the most symbolic part.”

Not wanting to use images of buildings, American flags or anything else “corny,” Nieto said the eagle feather is a universal symbol of strong values; the wolf represents the relationship between humans and canines, and the loyalty associated with the kinship.

Nieto paints wildlife and Indians with vivid primary neon hues. The boldly colorful brush strokes of the subjects are set against solid backgrounds.

About 90 prints of the image have been reproduced on canvas and will be sold to benefit Olympic Aid, an international philanthropic organization that brings sports and immunization to disadvantaged children.

Nieto said he’d also like to present a print to President Bush.

That wouldn’t be the first time he has bestowed a gift on the president. Former President George Bush has one. Another, given to Ronald Reagan, is a part of the Presidential Library.

Nieto believes the events of Sept. 11 showed the nation that technology that gets into the wrong hands can have dramatic effects.

“The painting was pretty much within the few days a gut reaction and an intellectual reaction to the events,” he said. “I’m not a universally acclaimed philosopher or moralist or any of those things. It was my reaction to a set of values that I think work. That’s peace and loyalty to the right cause.”

‘All an artist can do is paint …’

The Olympics have been commissioning commemorative artwork to honor the games, the athletes and the host city since the 1980s. American artists Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein are among those selected for past games held in the United States.

Other artists featured at this year’s games include Jaune Quick-to-See Smith of Corrales, Susan Swartz of Park City, Utah, and sculptor Phillip Haozous and his father, the late Alan Houser, both of Santa Fe.

The worldwide popularity of Southwestern art played a major role in selecting artists for the games, said Jack Scharr, a member of the Cultural Olympiad Committee. His firm, Fine Art Ltd. of St. Louis, has helped organize and reproduce artist contributions to the Olympics for the past seven games.

Nieto will spend most of February at the Olympics. He will sign autographs Feb. 9 at the Olympic Gateway Plaza Gallery and at Park City, where some events will be held Feb. 10.

The artist says he’s grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of healing the nation’s spirit.

“I think basically when you take lives, that is wrong. I can’t justify that any way,” he said.

“That kind of human behavior needs to be studied very hard and dealt with. All an artist can do is paint a picture.”