Jimi Hendrix, 2011
Acrylic on canvas, 594 x 841 mm
Acrylic on canvas, 594 x 841 mm
A commission for a lady whose husband was a big fan.
Often the challenge with commissions like painting Hendrix is: you're given an iconic picture, the size of a postage stamp, to recreate and bring something to. You have to try to add some kind of expression or feeling or magic to it that takes the picture away from an exercise in painting by numbers.
This actually turned out to be a really nice way to work... I took the paint and tried as best I could to leave the brushstrokes, lots of quick, sharp marks to give the painting energy and life. Working in black and white, there aren't too many places to hide but I think it's maverick enough to stand up.