Samson

Here is the completed image of Samson. It's a graphite 11x14 realistically rendered abstract drawing of the Old Testament judge. Artwork, years ago, used to tell stories and that's something I wanted to try and depict here. But, what's going on in this? What's up with all the flies, or hornets or bugs? The bugs are honeybees, and the brain has been transformed into a honeycomb. Two of the first sins that Samson committed was when he went through a vineyard, and after killing a lion, he returned to it later on to find honeybees in the rotting carcass. Under Nazarite Law - which Samson was - they were forbidden to touch anything of the vine, or eat of the vine, and they were forbidden to touch a carcass.

As I thought of Samson, I wondered if these things ever haunted him. In this scene here, we see Samson deep in thought. He shows no fear, for he's been in battle many times. The hair of his head is no longer long, and he's in captivity by the Philistines. Here he sits, just before his eyes are put out, and I wonder if those two things, the vineyard and the honeycomb, haunted him. That was the beginning, and from that time, he began to go down the wrong road.

For the opening of the face, I went to the Southside Surgical Specialist Clinic in Petersburg, VA to Dr. Nicolata's office (one of the finest doctors in my opinion) and they provided me with some medical illustrations to go off of. I had to really use my imagination to try and make it look like the skin was pulled back and make it as realistic as possible. I had a medical student at VCU - Virginia Commonwealth University - look at my work once I finished and she let me know that the only thing I had off on the opening to the mouth was one vein that needed to be pushed over slightly.

Anyway, that's the drawing, and the story behind it.