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?

Jack White: The White Stripes, "GBMS"

Jack White, "GBMS"

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

The White Stripes took the music industry by storm, were all over the radio and had become the toast of the town - but I had no idea of any of this.  I live under a rock and listening to top 40 radio shows, ick!  So when a buddy stuck on Death Letter for me,  I had to hear the rest of DeStijl - I was in love.  It was a delightful blend of dissonant chords and screeching harmonic chatter from Jack White, mirrored by the childlike drum beats slipping from in inexperienced hands of Meg White.  It had been far too long since I'd heard some good old fashioned garage rock, and Jack helped me remember why I missed it so much.  Even while he was in The Stripes it seemed like he was inventing a new persona for himself periodically.  Whether it was for the new tour or the new album, and he's fronted several different bands since then - all with their own nuances.  This is Jack at the height of The Stripes era from the Get Behind Me Satan tour and album.  It is a section of my life that will remain vivid for the rest of my days, and this picture helps me recall them.  It can help you if you need a little help as well, like Jack said after all, "I can tell we are going to be friends..."

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.

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.