Rob Zombie, "Hellbilly"

Rob Zombie - Hellbilly

Portrait, 14.5 x 10.5 in.

Lead on Paper

Years ago when Rob Zombie was first making his transition out of White Zombie there were a lot of people that weren't sure he was going to be able to make it on his own.  While Zombie is a talented lyricist he's always relied on the cadre of extremely talented musicians he surrounds himself with.  Any doubts were shattered when the ground breaking Hellbilly Deluxe album came out.  Dragula, Living Dead Girl and Demonoid Phenomenon invaded the radio waves and the deal was sealed.  His look has constantly evolved like his music but looking back, I will always fondly remember the Hellbilly Deluxe years as the ones that defined what he looked and sounded like to me.

Mos Def, "Hood"

Mos Def - Hood

Portrait, 8.5 x 11 in.

Lead on Paper

Mos Def is with out a doubt my favorite Hip-Hop artist out there.  He's also one of the few musicians turned actors that I've ever seen that isn't only decent, but I think he's actually a hell of an actor.  Something The Lord Made was an absolutely stunning film and his most recent album, "Ecstatic" is a non-stop thrill ride from beginning to end!  This piece pays tribute to the cover of his first album Black on Both Sides where images were heavily contrasted against each other in a black and white fashion, but depicted in color.  It was a neat photo and I covered half of his face to give it that same sort of dark, shadowy, cloak and dagger feel.

Frank Sinatra, "Blue Eyes"

Frank Sinatra - Blue Eyes

 

Portrait, 8.5 x 11 in

Lead on Paper

Who can forget Old Blue Eyes himself, Mr Frank Sinatra?  I know I can't.  When trying to think of things that went along with the Christmas season I heard Frank singing song after song about the season in my head and decided that I had to do a piece for him.  Everyone knows at least one Sinatra fanatic and yet it seems like these days there just isn't the amount of cool memorabilia created, but this should help.  Get Frank on your walls for the holidays before the family comes round and watch the conversations begin!

Marilyn Manson, "Dope"

Marilyn Manson - Dope

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in
Lead on Paper

Somehow Manson has managed to stay ahead of the competition for lo these many years now.  His inventive use of shock tactics and gothic, angst ridden lyrics belies an extraordinary man.   The more you know about him as a human being, and especially the more you hear him talk the more you know how he's stayed ahead of the game for this long!  In the midst of all the Halloween hooplah this year with all the classic monsters I wanted to show my love for some of the monsters that have meant a lot to me personally.  Most of those are musicians so I decided to do Manson and Zombie - I was really pleased with the way that both of them turned out.  This is old school Manson, but not so old school that he isn't recognizable, if there is interest I might be intised into doing another piece from another era - hint hint...

Kurt Cobain, "Spirit"

Kurt Cobain - Spirit

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in
Lead on Paper

Kurt represented a lot of things to a lot of different people and 16 years later I still think he does, I know that he hasn't lost any of his impact or interest.  Loosing him at such a young age felt like a robbery to me and my generation, like we had lost something shinning and wonderful - some height that would never be reached again. Thankfully the music and memories that he left behind are still around to this day and seem like they will be for a long, long time to come.

As Kurt comes toppling off of the page in this piece, the essence of the madness of Kurt on stage in really evident; yes the picture is right side up - he's on his head playing guitar!  A small smoke filled club where most people would be choking for air is where he called home.  Music is what he loved, and this way he can perform for you anywhere you want anytime you want!  Let this whirling dervish loose at the house and be the toast of the town.

Kurt Cobain, "Dumb"

Kurt Cobain - Dumb

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in
Lead on Paper

This is a companion piece that I did to go along with Spirit.  The raw energy of Kurt spills out of the lines on the page here blending into a mix of madness and ecstasy.   Anarchistic symmetry at it's finest.  You can't see his face, but the wild eyes underneath that furry mane are what fueled an entire musical movement.  Usually Cobain was sporting shades or long enough hair you couldn't make out his eyes, but it doesn't matter - this piece glares at you with no eye sockets, bring him home and maybe you can get him to stop screaming!

Jimi Hendrix, "Hair"

Jimi Hendrix, "Hair"

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in
Graphite on Paper

Jimi Hendrix was an undeniable force in the evolution of rock and roll guitar.  Where most people in his position would push the boundaries, he instead chose to shatter them.  Moving into a transcendent free-form blend of tradition rhythm and blues, surf rock and country as well as jazz - Hendrix used them to redefine what the establishment had come to think of as rock music in the late 60's.  Although his life was cut short at the young age of twenty-seven, we remember him now, forty years later just as lovingly as those who saw him perform.  Isn't it about time to bring a little piece of the legend home with you?

Howlin' Wolf, "Oval"

Howlin' Wolf, "Oval

Portrait, 7 x 5 1/2 in
Graphite on Paper

Before The Beatles, rock stars and even Elvis Presley there was a proud few musicians that stood on their own - outside of the established idea of what mainstream music should be in a still segregated society.  But with the help of people like Howlin' Wolf and his unique brand of rhythm and blues music, they began to dissolve the invisible wall that held people apart.  If it weren't for people like Muddy Waters and Hownlin' Wolf spreading their gospel through song it would have been an even longer tougher road than it was.  He sits here, brooding as always, so hurry up and give him a place to site before he gets real mad...

Jimi Hendrix, "1967"

Jimi Hendrix, "1967"

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in

Lead on Paper

Hendrix was on the scene solo for only about four years - from early 1967 until his death on September 18th of 1970.  In that period though he went through two very distinct personality and wardrobe changes.  This is the first of the two, far more dark and brooding than the jovial hippie that would follow some months later.  In these early months he would always appear deep in thought, a solemn look on his granite face.  I chose to picture him here in my favorite outfit from those years, the band leader jacket.  It makes me smile for one reason or another and I hope it brings a little smile to your face or wall as well as it might be.

Bradley Nowell - Sublime, "Back"

Bradley Nowell, "Back"

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in
Lead on Paper

A young man was taken before his time.  His band was just getting ready to make their big break.  Now fifteen years later we look back on the tragedy with as much regret and fervor as ever.  Leaving a family behind is never easy but imagine if there were scores of fans that loved you so much that they would never let you go.  Maybe it's because we feel like we are part of Brad's family, and if you love someone you can never let their memory die that I chose to use a picture with some of Brad's face slightly obscured - you can see his tattoo well though and I thought that the smile on his face and the microphone in his hand spoke more about him than my lines ever could.  He was after all a man who lived for his music, who had to be gagged and drug off stage at times and never lost his passion for life even in death.  Won't you help him perform one more song?

Bob Marley - The Wailers, "Laugh"

Bob Marley, "Laugh"

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in

Lead on Paper

Marley was a movement unto himself.  He didn't see himself as black or white, he didn't see himself as Jamaican or English - he saw himself as a divine creation of God like all other men and women.  And God had put him here for one reason - to spread love.  It was this unparalleled message of joy, happiness, peace and forgiveness that drove Marley's music and sky rocketed him into the international spotlight before his untimely death in 1981.  Likewise it was these same ideals that I tried to convey in the smiling visage you see before you.  Marley's smile was so strong it seemed like it could move mountains - his laugh jovial enough to raise the dead for one more joke.  Dreadlocks and a scruffy goatee were his visual trademarks but you still can't help but be affected by the peace and happiness that Marley was able to find in a world that seems to so dark atavistic at times. A light in a dark tunnel - at least now you can get a flashlight in the form of a print or poster...

Bob Dylan, "Half"

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in
Graphite on Paper

What can you say that hasn't been said about Dylan before?  He's be known as everything from a poet to a madman, thief to genius and it's hard to pin him down.  He sits here lurking in the shadows straight out of the mid-60's as he was just beginning to work with The Band, which was a more than somewhat controversial move at the time.  Half light, half dark - acoustic to electric, I tried to make a connection there.  Either way this Dylan will always remain baby faced for you no matter what happens from now on...

Jimi Hendrix, "Smile"

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in

Graphite on Paper

Sometimes you just end up with an image that sums up a person for you.  That's what happened here.  Initially I had set out to do a much larger study of Hendrix but as the face emerged it was all I could see.  That giant toothy grin peaking out of that wild hair had me hypnotized.  This is what I ended up with - the personification of Hendrix, for me at least.  His music conveyed such an upbeat and almost carefree tone that I never thought I'd get near to capturing that on paper, but I think I accomplished my goal quite well here, and I hope that you agree.  Forty years after his death Jimi is still greatly missed and will always be remembered.

Joel Gion - Brian Jonestown Massacre, "Dig"

Joel Gion, "Dig"

Portrait, 10 x 10 1/2 in

Lead on Paper

Can you hear the tambourine man a callin?  Joel Gion from The Brian Jonestown Massacre, or at least he as back as of the time of this portrait, made me reconsider my opion of tambourine players in a band.  He served not only as a musician but also a bouncer and the glue that very nearly held everything together.  Typical of Joel, nothing about this drawing was typical - his glasses weren't the hardest part of this picture, it was that hand that nearly drove me nuts.  For some reason getting the proper foreshortening on it was just a massive pain in the neck.  In the end though I was really happy with how this ended up.  Everything about this besides that hand was an absolute pleasure to draw.  You normally don't get to draw mutton chops or a hair cut like that on anything but a comic book character, and even then it's hard to pull off - I mean you just can't dream that kind of thing up!

Tom Waits, "Dark"

Tom Waits, "Dark"

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 in

Lead on Paper

So far the final installation in the Tom Waits series he is depicted here in the mid-90's while working on one of his plays, The Black Rider with writer William S. Burroughs of "Naked Lunch" notoriety.  It was this era in Tom's life that made me know he was going to knock his role as Satan in Doctor Parnassus out of the park.  Going well back to his Mystery Men days, this classic fedora and suit look just screams lounge lizard but there's so much more to Tom.  This was the very first picture that I did in the Conte Pierre Noire lead pencils that have become the basis of most of the work presented on this blog.  A fortuitous combination of subject and medium to say the least.

Tom Waits, "Laugh"

Tom Waits, "Laugh"

Portrait, 10 1/2 x 12 in

Lead on Paper

Yet another Tom Waits piece, spotlighting yet another of his many eccentric appearances and personalities.  This particular picture is from the Heart Attack and Vine era in the early 80's just before he got that crazy pin-stripe mustache going on for the next few years.  There is something about Tom when he laughs.  The sound is like gravel being dumped through a steel sieve and it seems to shake the ground beneath your feet, it's no accident he played the devil in Dr Parnasus.  His worn out suit drips off his shoulders as he shakes with laughter, summing up much of his life to me.  Looking back the lines are a little loose and the shirt is a little undefined, and I love it.  It all screams Tom to me and it should look really nice peering down from a mantle somewhere.

Django Reinhardt, "Classic"

Django Reinhardt, "Classic"

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 1 in

Lead on Paper

Modern music just wouldn't be the same with out Django Reinhardt.  He was badly burnt in a caravan fire when he was young costing Django several fingers, and while this would have stopped most people from playing the guitar but this inventive Gypsy decided, instead to use it to his advantage.  He developed an entirely new system of finger sweeps for the neck of the guitar that would become the basis for contemporary and modern guitar, most of his recognition would come after his lifetime.  Beyond his music though Django's persona was almost as cool as his music.  Sleek ties and hand tailored suits were a trademark for the man who came up from nowhere.  It seems like they designed Art Deco directly off of Django.  Tired of imitations and translations?  Bring the enigmatic gypsy wanderer back to your place, maybe you'll have better luck getting him to stay than we did!

Tom Waits, "Diner"

Tom Waits - Diner

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in
Lead on Paper

Tom Waits is the man of a million faces.  He seamlessly changes from decade to decade, depending on how he feels and where he's at in his life.  Ranging from soft folk ballads and gentle jazz piano, to out and out rock and roll, even going to so far as to record an album with Keith Richards helming the guitar.  In that spirit I did three pieces ranging from different parts of his career.  This one goes all the way back to those smoke filled bars and coffee shops that he would have been haunting back in the early 70's.  Although he was still cementing himself as an indispensable piece of rock music he already had the look down - and you can have the look down if you want to.  Of course you could always hang it up on the wall and bask in the glory that is Tom like I do though.

John Lennon, "Imagine"

John Lennon - Imagine

 

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in

Lead on Paper

John Lennon was a member of The Beatles, arguably the world's most popular band.  They invented the term superstar and went on to revolutionize not only music sonically but the way that it was recorded and even how it was perceived by those who listened to it.  John Lennon was a man, and he felt the need to share his strengths and weaknesses and happiness and insecurities with the rest of the world in the hopes it might make it a little better place, or teach someone something - at least make them stop and think.  So on what would have been John's 70th birthday I chose to draw this as I share many of the same hopes and dreams.  I was looking for a way to help remember this amazing man and his legacy, I found it and so can you.