This vibrant 11" x 17" mixed-media piece, created with Prismacolor pencils and oil pastels on mixed media paper, is a stylized, semi-abstract depiction titled Palm Grove Farmers in the Diyala Province of Iraq. It portrays a lush date palm grove under a radiant sun, infused with bold geometric abstraction and rich, tropical colors. The work celebrates the iconic date palm cultivation of the region while blending realistic botanical detail with modern, fragmented design.
Graham builds the image from a radiant yellow field and a deep blue upper band, then drives the eye into the central date palm with thick graphite contours and layered pastel strokes. The surface is alive with visible handling: dry, fibrous marks on the fronds, scumbled color in the trunk, and blocky geometric planes that lock the grove into a modernist grid. The composition joins botanical observation to semi-abstract construction, in the lineage of postwar regional modernism and the stylized plant imagery of artists who flattened nature into emphatic shape and color.
SGT Ben Graham, based in 1731 Fontana Lane, creates original artwork available to collect on Art Emerge, an AI-powered marketplace for artists and collectors.
Key Facts
Location: 1731 Fontana Lane
I am a Wounded Veteran, 46 with a Purple Heart and Bronze Star with Valor among many other awards and decorations. I've seven tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, until I was shot and received 2 Brain Injuries from Roadside bombs in an attack. I went to school for Art and its my Passion. This was before and finished some when I was deployed online, which was not easy when it comes to art. I am Married to my Lovely Wife Lori and my 12 year old Ninja and Smart Daughter. We are definitely a Tripod.
Artist Statement
Artist Statement My name is SGT Ben Graham, and every piece you see here is more than just art — it is a living thank-you and a way for me to give back. As a wounded veteran, I create because it keeps me moving, focused, and connected when my disabilities try to hold me back. The true price of my work is not for profit. What you pay is a donation. That donation first covers the cost of the supplies I need to keep creating.
