Earlier today, the webs and cat tubes started buzzing with the news that beleaguered Florida gun aficionado George Zimmerman was trying to make an honest living now by selling his own artwork on eBay. Why the buzz? Because one of his paintings had been bid up to $99,000, and in the hours since Dustin, Dan and I tried to figure out who in the bloodiest of hells would spend that much money on something that looks like it came from a teenager’s Etsy account, the price has significantly jumped to more than $110,000.
I guess it’s just hard to put a specific value on someone’s passion.
First hand painted artwork by me, George Zimmerman. Everyone has been asking what I have been doing with myself. I found a creative, way to express myself, my emotions and the symbols that represent my experiences. My art work allows me to reflect, providing a therapeutic outlet and allows me to remain indoors :-) I hope you enjoy owning this piece as much as I enjoyed creating it. Your friend, George Zimmerman
With three days and 16 hours left on the auction, it’s safe to assume that the high bidding is the result of some good, old-fashioned Internet pranking. But if you scroll down to the buyer questions, it seems that people are honestly interested in buying this piece of… art.
Q: george, pleasee dont leave florida . you are our hero. please run for a political office! we need you. God bless you.
A: Thank you, your words of kindness and support will influence my decision on where to plant my roots. Your friend, GZQ: Just wanted to tell you we all love you and stand behind you. You have so many people on your side I hope you know that!
A: Thank you so much for the words of kindness and support. I do know how many great Americans are still here, I run into at least 3-5 a day that go out of their way to tell me the same. Your Friend, GZ @therealGeorgeZ
And some other eBayers simply wanted to know what size of the painting is, presumably so they’ll know if it will look right above their fireplaces.
Of course, it has also come to light that Zimmerman’s “vision” is possibly just a trace job of a Shutterstock image with the words of the “Pledge of Allegiance” added for effect.
But that’s still gotta be worth at least a high five figures, right?