Gun control is a major issue, particularly in New York City. It’s dangerous to carry, and for many celebrities, it’s dangerous to not carry… or is it? Regardless of your stance, if you want to fire some rounds, all you have to do it head over to the West Side Pistol and Rifle. There, you pay, shoot, and take out the stresses of your daily life.

Back in 2005 there was a promotion called “Beef and Guns”. You pay $100 a person to shoot rifles, then eat a steak. At the range, I saw a man who looked like Mr. Eko, wearing a neon green mesh shirt and a matching fanny pack. From that pack, he extracted a handgun that looked like a cannon. Just then, a 70-something lady comes rolling by in a wheelchair. In her flowerly purse? A pistol.

The lesson? Don’t mess with anyone, ever.

After slicing the target my brother Dan blasted (quite accurately I might add) into four diagonal pieces, I traced them on the canvas, creating an “X” of negative space. There, I collaged headlines I felt appropriate.

Headlines down, I pasted the target. It’s interesting to see what a circular image becomes when separated — a certain symmetry remains, but it feels entirely different.

Beginning to fill in the bright points of the newsprint in Mars Black (a color I almost never use, and is black a color anyway?)

Continuing to paint the darkness.

All of the black to be painted has been added. From here, I decided upon a payne’s grey to fill the brighter remaining headlines and negative space.

No, this painting does not have a corporate sponsor, they don’t even sell ammo.

Fully painted, prior to a clear coat of gloss varnish (which makes the painting nearly impossible to photograph without a bounce flash, which I didn’t use.)

And completed. You can click on this picture for a larger version, for closer inspection. Remember, guns don’t kill people, people kill people. But people carrying guns have a much higher probability of killing people than those simply carrying an iPhone. Though, an iPhone often makes people want to kill AT&T. So, is it all a wash?

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