I did this painting on black canvas. Only special peeps get to the black canvas. I also used fluorescents to help dignify his intensity. I put his name in green like those old scary movies ads of the 50’s…as if he is “The Blob” and coming for your children. As Lenny once said, “I’m sorry I haven’t been funny. I am not a comedian. I am Lenny Bruce.”
This painting has a metallic spray paint background. I think I was trying to give him one of those Polaroid SX70’s type of look but with a cartoonish vibe…much like if he had a weekly Saturday morning cartoon show that kids would enjoy…like if the producers of Fat Albert distributed this
I painted the background with metallic spray paints, to give the portrait a shining golden look along with the sky blue to give it a nice positive feel. I used oil paints and the metallic still bled through that but I thought that gave it a cool look, so I left it like that, as if his spirit shined through the painting
During the week, I texted Iman, informing him I was emotionally drained and couldn’t bring myself to write anything. In fact, I started two other TBH articles and couldn’t finish them due to an absence of creativity and inspiration. I don’t want to go into my life right now, but I have had a terrible time of things in this past year. I believe this is what happened with Syd, too.
We sent out wedding invites that she designed with Elvis from “Blue Hawaii” surfing on the cover. We were even married in front of an Elvis statue and had the reception in an Elvis themed restaurant. We listened to Elvis every weekend.
CBS SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN….CBS SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN…We are sorry to interrupt this article but we have just had a report that Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll has been seriously wounded. Our sources report that Elvis was in the process of arriving at a “meet and greet” for some of his top fans in Dealey Plaza in Dallas this afternoon.
This painting was done on black canvas and the portrait was done in oil. I am slowly learning to blend the oils into a tri-color sheen that give the skin a more living, colorful feel. I sorta went with a 60’s or 70’s style font that recalled the colors on “Whipped Cream and Other Delights”…but who was looking at the colors on that LP?
I will add a personal note to this article. Willy played a big role when I was courting my future wife even though she never knew. When we first started dating, I had “Le Chat Bleu” in my cassette player. I would listen to this, sort of like a good luck charm: “This Must be the Night” “That World Outside” and especially “Just to Walk that Little Girl Home”
The first one was painted on a Remo 14” snare drum head using acrylics and metallic paints (This is Art in action; the second one is an EP cover that I dreamed up in the style of influential artist David Stone Martin, picture this as some sort of Jazz Messengers Live in Italy sort of thang.
Charles Christopher Parker Jr., aka Yardbird, Yard, Bird, Sweet Cheeks (ok, I made that one up), the ultimate hipster that was never cartoonized by the media, in stereotype for the public with beret and horn rims, ala Diz. He was the martyr of the bebop era.
I took this portrait of Nina from a still photo in the Liz Garbus documentary. This was done in oil. I chose to put Nina on black canvas because she was such a strong voice in the black culture and will always be associated with such. Her portrait is done in an angelic white with a hint of blues illuminating her hair. I used shapes in the background (acrylic) from a stage show that was filmed later in her career. The font was my interpretation of a royal African style that is done in a gold and bronze in tribute to her regal ness
The painting is pretty goofy looking. I don’t know why. Buck used to be pretty goofy onstage. I mean he threw out some great zingers at people that were dancing. He almost sounded like he had a few drinks in him, not sure, don’t need to know, but he was pretty dang funny. I also gave him some flowers just to gussy him up.
Folks, before we all get a little upset, let me do some ‘splainin’..This painting is not paying homage to Chuck Manson by any means. I was just trying to beat some get-rich-quick dude on a CD or LP cover….imagining if some lost tapes were unearthed between Dennis Wilson and the Manson, a what-if, if you will, of album art.
I drew this out in pencil before I attacked it on canvas. Weirdly enough, I got the hair, I got the eyes…but then a very strange thing happened when I got to the nose….from the nose down she turned into Tina Turner! I did not try to do this. I tell ya, I don’t have that much control of my painting!
Back in the late 80’s, Don (Mr. Hollywood) Butler and I discovered the sounds of this wildman. I cannot remember who heard him first…me, him or Little Richard, but I do remember we were instantly hooked by the wild piano playing and insane vocal stylings and his crazy hair-do
His portrait is based in blue streaks and I gave Joe the spiritual fire that seems to be a constant aspect in a lot of my stuff. I reckon it signifies soul and life and a certain forever, eternal, greatness. I also picked the Kansas City era Joe because I like to think of him singing without a microphone coming out from behind the bar
I used Los Angeles Lakers colors because Watt is a huge homer for the local hoops squad. I dressed him in his customary flannel, he was wearing flannel before the Northwest peeps took that look over and claimed it as their own, and threw his outdoor jacket on him.
I have a feeling that Mr. 5 x 5 and I will see each other again…for he is truly a remarkable singer and talent and one can really never know if he’s coming or going. Folks, get into some Rushing, y’all can thank me later, and you will… so try jumpin’ with the fat man
Jack Brewer and Joe Baiza are members of South Bay punk rock band Saccharine Trust. This past week I have been going down memory lane and revisiting my “punk roots”, if you will. It all started with a book release of the San Pedro punk scene called “A Wailing of a Town, 1977-1985” an oral history written by Craig Ibarra.
It doesn’t go away. It never will. Death is a game changer. Death of a spouse changes one’s entire future, ones plans, ones goals; every waking minute is different these days. I see things in entirely different ways now. It doesn’t seem fair but at least I was blessed with the time and memories that we had together
In high school, my science teacher taught us to use a mnemonic device to remember the order of the colors of the rainbow, a name, ROY G. BIV. Red/orange/yellow/green etc…plus Roy always seemed to have a weary smile so I thought a fractured rainbow and the sky with a hint of sunshine reflecting in his shades
It starts in the orange crate-ville of Southern California, home of Capitol Records, where water, sunshine and gorgeous girls means fun, fun, fun! I did not paint these images in any particular order but one can see a Santa Monica Civic era Brian already being carried away by the twister like forces of fame and fortune
I painted a woe looking, dizzy Cab, sort of hoping that the jive *ss peeps stop the hepness and just power down the grape without all the posing fanfare. I figured Cab is short for Cabernet. The swirling world is painted in muted metallics because I wanted to and also I like shiny things and you all should like shiny things too!
There is a lonely Bobby in the back of the limo. A Vegas Bobby on the hood of the car, leaving Pink’s with his booty in hand, and a funereal dressed Bobby dancing on the roof of the limo/hearse as if to say “Look out ol’ Bobby is back or I’ll be around forever folks, so enjoy your hot dogs.”
Sometimes it is credited to his grandfather, sometimes to singer Jimmie Rodgers. Regardless, Howlin’ Wolf was a big man. He made electric guitars look like mandolins in his huge hands. Wolf is one dude that you would NOT want to run into down a dark alley
To the painting, this is for Denny Tedesco and is his property (sorry, not for sale), and I just took off on his “The Wrecking Crew” film logo and added my own colors and bits and pieces and highlights, all in acrylic. That is Denny’s father, Tommy Tedesco, in the corner,
The painting is just a whirligig of pop art style. I did this one in oil and in black and white but made his lips and eyes in full Technicolor. These are his most striking features. When he sang, he always blinked his eyes for a bit too long and you always wondered if he was ever going to open them again.
I painted it a couple days after his death. It was later used in a flyer and poster for a “Tribute to Lou Reed” night at Fingerprints Records that Rockford and several local Long Beach musicians played songs from his catalog in a tribute, held coincidentally, on the anniversary of JFK’s assassination
Supposing a trumpet grew up being played by school kids and rank amateurs. What if the trumpet had dreams of one day being played by Miles Davis? Dig, relax your staid brain activity, go with the thought. So this lonely trumpet is put in the back of the closet for years but to get him through each lonely day, the trumpet dreams of Miles lovingly fingering his keys
But it appears that a saintly Gene is onstage, possibly in hell, rising up into the spotlight, in a purple egg-shaped hole (royalty rebirth?), blind to all of his troubles and memories, to deliver a set for the ages. The burning blue curtains in back, possibly representing the burning sounds of the Blue Caps, his backing band
I was born about a baseball throw (if you are hyped on steroids, goofballs and PCP) away from the wonderful land that we call Hawthorne, California, home of the Wilson and Jardine Families. If you grew up in Southern California, in that era, you were probably weaned on surf music
Dig, We all love Buddy Holly and think he’s a gentleman with his gentle songs i.e. “Crying, Waiting Hoping”, “Oh Boy”, “Everyday”, “True Love Ways” but what if Chas. T. had a dark side? Who’s to say that he didn’t sit alone in the dark of his Lubbock garage and peruse the Billboard charts wishing harm upon his competition?
Dig, Richman wrote a song called “Ice Cream Man” and Brian posed as a Good Humor ice cream man on the Sunflower LP cover. Pet Sounds is one of the most tender, soul baring LP’s ever made and Jonathan often bared his soul onstage (crawling on all fours) and on entire LP’s and songs like “Affection”, “Back in Your Life”, “That Summer Feeling” etc..
I picked Professor Longhair for my first offering because the man exudes joy, humor, and an incredible, notable style and is instantly recognized like no other, all the while playing and singing the blues! The blues is not supposed to be happy but this man pulls off a sort of ‘what the hell, don’t take it too seriously
