M U D D L E

Here is the first piece among my intense physical interaction series in which the context of the painting is that of a strongly emotional nature. The photo I worked from is actually one of the saddest I've ever seen; a young Iraqi boy literally dying in the arms of his mother as she seems to be trying to comfort him (suggested by what appears to be a slight smile on her face), the life in his eyes being replaced by confusion and what could very well be the "light at the end of the tunnel," both covered in his blood. The photographer captured a moment few of us will ever experience. I tried to find out who it is to give credit where credit is due, but couldn't. It is an overwhelming view into the horrors that war brings and I plan to do several drawings/paintings of scenes in which someone is dying in another person's arms because of the sheer power that such an image possesses. I want to clarify that the purpose of these pieces is not to say that I think war needs to be stopped (I think a world without war is impossible), but I want to expose people to something that most of us are otherwise completely disconnected from.