Easel Kill Ya story

tftc1989e3x08 · 1991-07-17

Jack Craig, an artist and recovering alcoholic with a temper who can't seem to sell any of his work, ends up accidentally killing a neighbor. Finding inspiration, Jack photograph the corpse, paints the scene, and sells the painting to Malcom Mayflower, a collector of morbid artwork who promises to pay him large sums of money for similar paintings, which leads Jack down a dark and dangerous path. Directed by: John Harrison. Story by: Larry Wilson.

16 total · 2 choice · 8 major · 6 minor

ThemeLevelMotivation
painting choice The story turns on the struggling artist Jack painting the death scenes of his murder victims.
the visual arts choice A central theme of the story is that novel art can be created by an artist being pushed into a dark emotional place.
alcohol abuse major One component of Jack's many problems was that he was a recovering alcoholic.
anger management issues major One component of Jack's many problems was that he had temper tantrums. In the opening scene, Jack fantasized about bashing in an old female patron's head in with a hammer.
humans in pairs major Jack was commissioned to paint morbid scenes of death by his wealthy patron, Malcolm Mayflower.
ironic twist of fate major Jack tried to kill an innocent man in order to save his lover Sharon, but through an ironic twist of fate he ended up killing the one brain neurosurgeon that could have saved her and then through a further twist of fate he found that she had died anyway.
killing to save a loved one major The story lead up to the following ethical dilemma for Jack: should he let his lover Sharon die, or should he go out and kill someone innocent so he could produce a masterpiece and get enough money to hire the brain surgeon that could save her?
murder major Jack ended up committing several murders in order to inspire himself to create very dark, but incredibly valuable, paintings.
romantic love major Jack and Sharon had some romantic intrigues and did the nasty.
struggling artist character major Jack struggled to make ends meet with his mostly commonplace paintings, while staying off the hooch and managing his anger.