Memphis native crafts portrait of Tyre Nichols

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - As the world continues to follow the Tyre Nichols’ death, one Memphis native is turning to art to decompress.

Professional artist Jerry Lynn says he wanted to turn this tragic situation into something beautiful. With his latest painting, called “Memphis Blues,” the artist shows a smiling Tyre Nicholas, Tyre’s skateboard, along with Memphis landmarks like the “M”/I-40 bridge and Lorraine Motel.

Lynn said so many people said Tyre was a beautiful person and he wanted to show that.

“Being from Memphis I just wanted to show the history and rich culture that we have here in the city and kind of tie all that together with the wonderful spirit that Tyre had,” Lynn said.

Lynn is a self-taught artist, now living in Texas. He said it took him nearly a week to finish the piece.

“When I painted the painting, my initial thought was the incident that happened with Tyree was just so tragic that I felt I had to do something,” Lynn said. “At the same time just show his spirit through artwork. I kind of put my soul and heart into it and I think people really resonated with the image. "

Lynn wants this painting to be both uplifting and inspiring.

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