Dr. Jack Kevorkian's oil paintings

Signed and numbered prints of Dr. Jack Kevorkian's oil paintings are available from Ariana Gallery in Michigan. Some of his descriptions are even trippier than the images. Shown here, "Very Still Life."

The message here, though somewhat capricious, nebulous, and indefinable, is clearly underscored by intense feeling and brilliant colors. These highlight the melancholy age-old balance between the warmth of life and the iciness of death, spiced with the sardonic humor of irony.

The disquieting mood portends inescapable doom for the frail symbol of individual life and through seemingly callous extinction of its evanescent aura. The age-old balance is certainly skewed.

He may or may not love life, but Lordy, he does love him some adjectives! Jack, you're killin' me. (via Eric Steuer)

• [Anonymous]

  He’s amazing, honestly. His art work is incredible, his style is so slick and has this great precision it’s just mindblowing.

  Also, I honestly go with everything he stands for it makes sense you have to think about what if it happened to you, or your own mother or child was in that kind of pain and suffering. Free will man, that’s what it is. We have free will, and it should be an option

• [jeligula]

  That skinned face pinned to the wall is beyond creepy! What a twisted imagination he had.

• [PaulR]

  Has the word ‘derivative’ been worked into the descriptions anywhere?

• [nanuq]

  “What a twisted imagination he had.”

  Has. He’s still with us. I do wish they’d up his antidepressant meds though.

• [Anonymous]

  i got a tattoo of the pic called nearer my god to thee on my lower back. its my favorite

• [Anonymous]

  I totally admired Dr. Kevorkian, he has dignity, mercy and respect for people’s pain. If I am in severe pain for years and have had strokes, unable to talk, walk, go to the bathroom I would not want to live no more. I’ll feel humiliated to poop on myself … you loose your dignity your own self. Out of respect to myself I would definitely choose to end my physical / emotional pain. I am a christian and have had multiple surgeries, i am alive and doing well, however his paintings simply are a reflection to excrutiating pain people experienced thru their dreams. Been there, done that when you are fighting for your life. All of your negative criticisms indicates to me you have never experienced true pain and fear of dying. Dr. Kevorkian is my hero/ angel indisguised. Not to mention the BILLIONS of dollars we are spending to keep somebody alive who’s already brain dead. Does that make sense???, not to me. illnesses You know how mu

• [freshacconci]

  What is he, like 15?

• [Axx]

  What glorious adjectives! Kavorkian isn’t that guy who writes for trueslant, is he? ;)

• [Anonymous]

  he is taking himself waaaaaaaaay too seriously..

• [Ms. P.]

  I admire Dr. Jack Kevorkian and have been non stop viewing his movie called “You Don’t Know Jack”. It moved my heart and great facts about how much he did try to help and advise the people before they wanted to die. Plus he so loved his mother and today is Mother’s Day.
  I love & adore his art work, he truly is one amazing artist with a ton of talent.
  I was so surprised that so many people had the need to come here and break the rules of this website and say such ugly things. In my eyes those people wouldn’t know great art if it slapped them in the face or even have respect for themself.
  If you can not say something postive or kind then then just walk on by. For those that don’t know it KARMA does bite very hard and you never leave this earth without paying for the ugly things you have done to another person, no matter who they are. So try to learn the meaning of respect please.
  With Love,
  Ms. P. *heart*

  • [loonquawl]

    Why did you not walk by the detracting commenters, if you had nothing positive or kind to say about them?

    • [mdh]

      i think what she said was kind, and positive, and more constructive than anyone offering simple criticism.

      Did some part of what she said hit home for you? Might you be a detractor who has nothing kind, positive, or clever to say?

      • [loonquawl]

        So her saying that she ‘loves & adores’ his work goes beyond simple criticism, while it was kind and positive to say that “those people wouldn’t know great art if it slapped them in the face”? That is true art.

      • [Ms. P.]

        Thank you so very much for your kind words to what I had stated and expressed, I truly do appreciate it.
        I have been in the art world since the age of about 3 years old and art is my life. Infact I’m on another website for many years and I do have all my artwork and my photos there. I have 4 clubs with that website and thousands of club members. I’m a very open minded lady when it comes to any form of art. Infact I’m very well known in that website by the C.E.O. and all the high senior admin directors for the things I do.
        My name as Ms. P. has a meaning with my state and all over the world. Ms. means that i’m not married and the P. is the first letter of my true name. I do live alone in what I call a humble home where the rich and famous live. I know art very well due to I have a lot of my real life family and friends that do it for a living like I use to do a very long time ago.
        Most people here do not seem to understand why the doctor did that oil painting. If you saw that movie, you will notice that this one female that was protesting him had a huge sign with a skull on it.
        All ture artist think out side the box and see things that others close they’re mind to. Being that I was infact a very well know photographer I can understand how other artist think.
        I am infact a very kind lady and not trying to be rude or crude to anybody on any website. Yet sometimes people do need a bit of a kinda nice tonguelashing when they don’t do the research about art or the artist as a human being. There is a lot of things that I myself don’t believe in, but I don’t judge others for what they feel the need or want to believe in. Yet I have never liked it when someone feels the need to be unkind or not to show respect for people or themself.
        Once again I thank you for your commet, it was very sweet and kind of you do so and to take the time out of your busy life.

        With Love,
        Ms. P. *heart*

• [teufelsdroch]

  Yeah, kevorkian displayed his signature common sense/bizrro insanity when maher got to these paintings in his recent interview with Kevorkian.

  Kevorkian just doesn’t have an internal sense of when he’s slightly off-kilter yet making sense, and when he’s slightly off-kilter and disturbing.

• [Anonymous]

  i think this guy was a god! what he did was great! his paintings are great as well.

• [Anonymous]

  Before anyone passes their personal views and opinions, I feel they need to watch the movie “You don’t know Jack” and then do some internet research on the genecide of the Armenians (1915 – 1917).

• [MooseDesign]

  Someone likes him some Dali…

• [Brainspore]

  I hope that if I’m ever incapacitated with constant pain and no hope for recovery that someone out there helps me to die. But I also really, really hope it’s someone less creepy than Kevorkian.

• [Derek C. F. Pegritz]

  Wow. Those paintings are…freakin’ *awesome!* The colours are gorgeous and the subject matter exquisitely Poe-esque. I think I may have to decorate my bathroom in Kevorkian art now!

• [MadRat]

  It’s like so-bad-its-good garage sale art. Matter of fact it would be right at home at http://officialbadartmuseumofart.com/ or http://www.thriftstoreart.com/ It’s always been my dream to have “Mental Patient Baby” for my very own ( http://www.thriftstoreart.com/mentkidh.htm )

• [loonquawl]

  Recast first sentence:’The Message is unclear, but very emphatic.’

• [Anonymous]

  What a great man.

  • [Ms. P.]

    I totally agree with you 100%.

    With Love,
    Ms. P. *heart*

  • [Ms. P.]

    I totally agree with you 100%.

    With Love,
    Ms. P. *heart*

• [TimDrew]

  according to wikipedia:

  “…he sometimes paints with his own blood, and has created pictures such as one “of a child eating the flesh off a decomposing corpse”

  seems a bit… emo.

• [seaanemoneman]

  That particular painting is used as the cover of his awesome jazz album (with The Morpheus Quintet), also titled A Very Still Life.

• [querent]

  Acid Bath used his art as an album cover too:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paegan_Terrorism_Tactics

• [ROSSINDETROIT]

  He still lives around here. Nice man. I signed his petition to run for Senate. Someone pointed out during his trial that lots of people want an advocate for assisted suicide but almost nobody wanted Kevorkian as that advocate. Advocate is one thing. At times he seems more like and enthusiast.

  • [Ms. P.]

    Hello darlin what petition and where may I find it so that I may also sign it and all of the people I know that truly do support this great man.
    I have read some very ugly things that people have said here about him and his art work. A lot of those people are so breaking this websites rule. But the way I view life they will have to deal with it and some day KARMA will bite them hard.
    With Love,
    Ms. P. *heart*

• [Antinous / Moderator]

  Please tell me that’s on black velvet.