Baltimore based artist Will Brown has been spending his time doing something unique and noble, using his artwork to bring awareness to numerous social issues which plague America at the moment.
Will Brown has painted over 600 acrylic murals and portraits of victims of gun violence, memorializing them on the walls of the streets. His artwork depicts the victims in a stylized and vibrant way, akin to superheroes. Others he takes more seriously, painting realistic portraits of victims who currently rest in power.
An example of this is of a high school boy and his prom date, who was gunned down outside a gas station. While these creative endeavors are aesthetically pleasing to look at, they also highlight a very serious issue currently gripping America and its communities: gun violence.
Mass shootings, gun violence associated with crime and general criminal activity involving firearms has long plagued America and has resulted in thousands of deaths every year. Will aims to pour his soul and creativity into his murals to highlight the seriousness of the issues whilst still pursuing his artistic ability.
His artistic ability comes from his father who would often paint acrylics and watercolors. His strive to highlight serious issues came from his mother who worked at John Hopkins Medicine and would often tell stories of her experiences seeing people come in with stab and gunshot wounds. T
his drove Will to pursue his art whilst still portraying the serious issues of violence in the country. In such trying times, gun violence has remained pervasive and has even seen a spike in recent years.
His work is more important than ever, and helps to engage with communities and organizations to spread the message of positivity, and to turn away from gun violence.
You can follow up with Will Brown at ThePortraitOfLife.com or connect via IG @artistwillbrown
