Background: By the end of high school, I had firmly cemented myself as one of those truly eccentric types that didn’t give a damn about public opinion. Since I was commonly referred to as Death, I embraced the idea of being the Grim Reaper incarnate. Also, I was a big fan of the movie Tombstone and Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn) has a moment in the beginning where he paraphrases from the Bible.

“Behold the pale horse. The man who sat upon him was Death and Hell followed with him.”

And that was the beginning of this piece. Originally, it was going to be a more accurate depiction of what’s written in Revelations, with an actual pale horse that was just rotting skin on exposed bones. The rider was going to be a skeleton version of me dressed similarly to how I am in this drawing, but wielding a sword. I had planned to draw different animals, rushing through the gates of Hell as well, but my rendering of a bear kept looking too cuddly. Finally, everything was going to be on top of a cracked fifth seal. Yeah, it was going to be very dramatic, but I got lazy and it turned into this dreary scene.

Points of Interest

The Rider: This is probably the most accurate depiction of how I looked and dressed towards the end of high school. You have to admit that it takes a certain amount of resolve to pull off the top hat on an everyday basis. Also, while I was very fond of popping the collar on my duster (the coat) the collar was never as stiff as it’s drawn here. Alas.

The Horse: One of the biggest gaps in my artistic talent is the inability to draw animals accurately. Sure, it’s passable here, but it only barely looks like a real horse. For one thing, the eyeball needs to be protruding instead of being so deeply inset. Oh well. This horse is an amalgam of the illustration in the dictionary for “horse” and an old illustration I saw as a child in a Dungeons & Dragons book.

The Bird: Yeah, it’s obvious I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to animals. One of the tricks half-talented artists learn is to disguise the things they can’t render. So rather than struggle with drawing the bird’s face, I just put a “thingy” on it. I’m also disappointed in that the talons aren’t actually gripping the rider’s shoulder.

Headstones Ford and Jacobs: Ford was a very good friend of mine that passed away after getting out of his shower and slipping on the floor and banging his head, causing a seizure he would not come out of. Jacobs was a beautiful girl that I lusted after from first through sixth grade, sparking my Asian insatiable desire for White flesh.

Kleiner Statue: Probably my first great love. I met her in the sixth grade and cared for her through high school. She’s a beautiful girl, but poor decisions led to poor outcomes and she has suffered more than most. However, last I saw of her, she seemed to be doing well.

Phillips Mausoleum: Phillips was my English teacher during my junior year in high school. He was bombastic in class, but during the times he took me aside for heart-to-hearts he was nothing short of fatherly. How could I not include him here?

Headstone Hettinger: One of my very good friends requested that I give him a broken headstone with a piss stain on it. I believe he has some self-esteem issues.

Headstones Auth, Garcia and McDonald: Garcia is me and McDonald was my last love. My experience with her showed me that love was something I could do without and, in most cases, was just a waste of time. Auth was a very good friend of mine that taught me that ending friendships was no easy task. So when I ended my friendship with him, I felt the social repercussions of it for months afterward.