Getting this fourth dozen group of portraits done has been tricky. As a totally outsider artist living on the margins socially, artistically, physically, and financially, it seems that my own town still cannot think I am serious. People scream for all of us to take action about gun violence, but as soon as I offer my portraits I am ignored as if to say "Everything except that".
But a nice young man named Baynard Woods wrote a nice piece about the march in last week's Baltimore City paper. I think it's www.baltimorecitypaper.com. Because of that article, a gentleman has contacted me from the Brady Center for Prevention of Gun violence in DC.
A small first edition of T-shirts has been printed, which I hope to sell when I get a venue, for the sake of the family of the model. I have succeeded in ridding myself of a couple of small debts. On the whole, perhaps a breakthrough will happen soon. Because I am serious. This is what I do. For this group, we have...
Every day in this country two or three tiny children are blasted away, usually by slightly bigger sibling. For three year old Mckenzie Elliot, she was playing on her own front porch when a bullet from spray of them welded by someone driving by ended her life. She is the third tiny tot done. She also joins the group of Unsolved cases, because no one is coming forward to say a thing.
The group which could be called "Trayvon's Brothers" has come forward in greater and greater numbers now. One thing about this crusade about finding out the truth about who is shot is wondering how many African American boys get slaughtered and how long has this been going on? Here are a few of the faces behind the statistics:
Oscar Torres is the first subject I know is Latino. His mother brought him here from Mexico to try to have a better chance at life. Perp shot him coming out of a robbery, then stole a car and got caught after hitting and killing a twelve year old girl trying to escape the scene where he shot Oscar.
Bruce Benn's mother asked me to paint her stunningly handsome son. This portrait doesn't capture even half of this lad's beauty. At 16, he would have attended the school of the Arts to become a poet if he wasn't robbed and shot in the back of the head. This case is unsolved. Possible heir to the legacy of Langston Hughes and we shot him.
Raquan Campbell, age 15, was a fighter his father said.Despite being shot ten times he was still battling for breath when he arrived at hospital. Who shot this lad and why? Don"t know. Nobody says a word. This case is Unsolved.
Same for Vatell Murray, same age, just shot somewhere about 16 times and his body left by some train tracks in a tunnel long enough for forensics of nine years ago not sure if he was shot at the tracks, or how long his corpse laid there. His case is also Unsolved.
Dontae Jackie Coleman can give us all a valuable clue as to how long these boys have been gunned down. Nineteen years ago he was playing craps when a shooter on a bike opened up on the group killing Dontae. By "bike" I hope it meant motorcycle. To be able to just pedal up and shoot people would be sad .This lad never got to see the Ravens play. That's how long ago this Unsolved murder happened.
Whether any of these lads had anything to do with gang related vents does not mean a thing to me. There are no criminal background checks in joining the March. All the more reason why these lads have to come out. This is a quest for the truth, screw your convenience. I do this for the sake of the parents, the siblings, and the orphans left behind.
Which brings me to the additions to the Young parents group.
Brian Powell is the third of the three people shot dead in the same apartment as Tyreka Martin and Kishawna Pinder 20 months ago. Not only is this case Unsolved, but no seems to know what Brian was doing in that apartment as he did not live anywhere in the neighborhood. How will his little son ever know?
For the orphans left behind, it is impossible to forget, even after decades. Gary Lee Helmick's portrait is the second requested portrait. His older daughter was ten years old when her father was shot during a robbery. perhaps now, after more than twenty years, this portrait can let this young dad give his children and the grandsons he never knew some kind of a lasting legacy. I give you three guesses as to what the status of his case is!
At least for Vietnamese immigrant Truc Thi Le Nguyen, the shooter was caught right away, by the fiancé that sponsored her arrival and the owner of the nail salon. She was giving a customer a pedicure when the shooter barged into the shop blasting away, trying to get the customer, and straphing the back of her head instead. As he struggled to get out of the grip of the salon owner and fiancé he kept screaming that he had to be let go because "she wasn't supposed to get hit." Does your brain hurt too? Of all the portraits, this one of a bride that will never be is the most serene and timelessly tranquil I have done, from an artist as rough and restless as myself.
Gwendolyn Johnson is the first portrait to deal with a domestic abuse problem not many people talk about. This is abusive relations between same sex couples, which, just like abusive opposite sex couples, led to one partner shooting the other. At least her partner was brought in. I do not know whether she went to trail.
Lawrence Peterson was called "The Mayor of Mount Vernon". He was a kindly neighborhood goodwill ambassador to the rest of the city, and organized many celebrations for the people he loved. He and photographer Alex Ulrich were shot together by a robber in 2012. While Alex did not survive the initial shooting Lawrence fought for life. He fought for the sake of his town and his determination not to leave the area he loved. But after 22 months of multiple emergencies this former Navyman could take no more. He died in May 2014.
Six weeks later the shooter was arrested in North Carolina.
I leave you with Officer Christopher Robinson. A two term Iraqi veteran and eight year police officer, he is only the second suicide to appear in the march. Sadder still, the second to last act he did before blowing his own brains out was to take his service revolver, drive to fireman Andrew Hoffman's home, barge in, shoot him, shoot his new love Marie Hartman, THEN turn the gun on himself. Was that suppose to show Marie that she had no right to leave him? How long will the macho mystique lead to events like this?
Andrew and Marie are part of the third squad. I have to be open to painting anybody whdied by gun in this quest for the truth, even a double killing disturbed police officer. I just won't hang the two pictures close together when I get full shows.