• "Boy Soldiers" - Image 1
1 1

SGT Ben Graham

"Boy Soldiers"

"Boy Soldiers"

$176.00 USD
$176.00 USD
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Edition
This is an 11" x 9" Oil Pastel (2003) This "Boy Soldier Piece represents Me in my first deployment.. I was "Green" or new to combat its amazing how much Training and knowledge I had to gain in Combat kept me alive. The AT-4 Rocket Launcher and my representation of bombs all around me...showing how much we were on the job training on how to find IEDs without getting blow up.

Artwork Details

Artist:
SGT Ben Graham
Artist Gallery:
View all works by SGT Ben Graham
Year Created:
2003
Dimensions:
17 × 11 × 0.4in
Edition:
Original 1/1
Style:
Graham builds the image from assertive black contour, quick pastel hatchings, and transparent color fields that move from violet and blue into warm orange and yellow. The eye meets the two childlike soldiers first: one front-facing and one in profile, locked in a back-to-back stance that compresses the composition into a single tense unit. The surface stays visibly worked, with rough pastel grain, scumbled atmosphere, and small emblematic details—the rifle, helmet, boot, and patch—handled as symbols rather than polished description. The work stands in the lineage of vernacular war drawing and expressionist figure painting, where direct testimony and raw mark-making carry the emotional charge.
Tags:
oil pastel,war imagery,veteran art,expressionism,symbolic figures,violet palette,combat memory,naive drawing,military narrative

About SGT Ben Graham

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.

Browse available works below.

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