Lady Sings The Blues

Inspection

What started out as a charcoal sketch of a nude model at school, became a drawing. I've always been curious about the evil that a person can become, and Nazi Germany has always intrigued me.

In this sketch, a Nazi officer inspects his subject before he declares her fate. Her friend, who just moments before was in conversation with, now lies lifeless on the floor. She is humiliated as she stands, naked, scared, and trembling, wondering what is to be her fate. Is a life left starving to death in a concentration camp worth more than to face the barrel of a gun? The officer orders her to turn this way and that, torturing her mind. The mental anguish seems far worse than the fate of death. She's a Jew, and to him, death is only retribution. She's beneath him, and his own morality dictates that sooner or later, she deserves what he would have in store for her.

Regardless her outcome, this Nazi officer, if he doesn't die by the end of the war, his body will hang from a post, or he'll feel the heat of a bullet as his heart is ripped out from a firing squad.

As nation after nation decides to go to war, torturing the individuals who would rise up against them, the winner will one day face death in the same manner as the loser. During WWII, my grandfather shot and killed many German officers, but he too, well after the war was over, came to the end of the road.

This depiction of the humility of an innocent human being, brought before the slime of humanity, captures a single moment in the life of a Jewish lady in Nazi Germany. Day after day, year after year, they were brought before their captors who sought to exterminate them. The cold and heartless actions of this officer shows just how low one human being can be.

Justified, Sanctified, Filled

A man finds a cup in the ground. He picks it up and takes it into the house. He washes it off, cleans it up, and sets it aside. Then, he fills it with coffee and drinks from it. The cup is you. The man is Christ. This is Him finding you and saving you. That's justification. He washes the cup and cleans it out. That's sanctification - cleaned and set aside for service. Then, He fills you. Just because a person accepts Christ into his heart doesn't mean that he won't be fully cleaned. He may still desire to do filthy things. It takes Christ to clean all of the worldliness out of your life. Then, He can fill you with His presence, to be used in His service.

Sniper

This charcoal drawing is beautifully framed. It won 2nd place at the Artworks Art Gallery - 320 Hull Street Road - People's Choice Award. This is one of my finest pieces to date.

Completed - In Progress - shots of the I Have A Dream drawing

'I Have A Dream' - The Price of Equality

This is a charcoal drawing of the Assassination of Dr. King. Dr. King's body is just below the people pointing on the left. What's sad about this photo is that the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. King was killed, cannot verify who these people are. A few years ago, a writer went back and found all of the main stunt actors and extras who were on the set of Bruce Lee's Enter The Dragon. Yet, in one of the most famous photographs, nobody can verify the names of 5 or 6 people on the balcony.

Please email if you're interested in purchasing - johnpriceart@gmail.com. This picture will not be sold unframed.

'I Have A Dream' - The Price of Equality