THE STORY
This was created and submitted to a show for the theme “content of character” and was declined due to a policy that does not allow the portrayal of weapons.
Sadly I don’t agree with this decision as this isn’t a violent image, it takes away freedom of telling the story of a painting like this. It’s history and to silence this is something that bothered me. An image of a soldier taking time to pose for a photo for a loved one.
It was based off a photo of my Great-Grandfather who was in New Guinea in 1944 during World War II. This same man would be the one to raise my Stepdad and be a symbol of strength in hard times to our family.
The last words I remembered him saying were “Promise to do the right thing, I love you and I’ll see you later”
Those words sunk into my life and became a reminder to try and do the right thing.
He set an example for strength, Perseverance, to be humble and Loving even in hard times. This is a man who enlisted in the summer of 1941 before the attack of Pearl Harbor and didn’t come home until after the War.
To this day I still look up to him.
And I hope this is to show that change needs to happen. Let Art be Art.
Thank you to all the Veterans who sacrificed so much for Freedom.