Preachin' the Blues

The Devil and Robert Johnson

24"x 48" acrylic on canvas

C. Earnhart 1997

Sather collection

Detail of the above painting, a more animated version of the drawing style carried over to the Leadbelly painting. Warner Brothers cubism with hot rod flames that make me cringe a little seeing them now.

A sketch for the never-started second painting, The Ascent of Blind Willie Johnson. A second version was also drawn with the Rev. Gary Davis in Johnson's place.

Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters led me to listening to a lot of folk blues all through out the 90's. I haven't really listened much in the last ten years or so but here are a few that are still favorites of mine...

I Got Mine - Frank Stokes
Love in Vain Blues - Robert Johnson

Death Letter - Son House
Paul and Silas in Jail - Washington Phillips

Lord, I Just Can't Keep From Cryin' - Blind Willie Johnson

New Orleans Streamline - Booker White

Stack O'Lee Blues - Mississippi John Hurt

Tupelo Blues - John Lee Hooker

Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues - Skip James

I Heard the Angels Singing - Rev Gary Davis

Where Did You Sleep Last Night? - Leadbelly

Huddie Ledbetter 1888-1949

Leadbelly

20"x 24" acrylic on canvas

C. Earnhart 1998

R.M. Wilson collection

...HERE TO DO A FEW TUNES BETWEEN HOMICIDES

"Lead Belly, born Huddie Ledbetter, of the Louisiana swamps, is a powerful, knife-toting Negro, who has killed one man and seriously wounded another, but whose husky tenor and feathery, string-plucking fingers ineluctably charm the ears of those who listen."

New York Herald Tribune 1/3/1935

The David Stone Martin influenced drawing for the above painting, which is a scan of the small photo I have of the finished work. Stuart Davis, Georges Braque and Picasso are also clearly present in my painting style.

My little shrunken headed boy is 18

The Deadbolt Shrunken Head logo I designed for the band in '92 or 3. The design adheres to the Oval Logo Law of the same year. I don't know if we have The Casbah to blame for that law or O?

The logo design sheet I showed the band from '92. The checked logo in the lower right corner was pretty much just an all caps version of the logo they already had, which I think was designed by Mrs. Valdez and why they chose it again. Harley chose the circled one, which we all thought looked a little too much like the Cramps logo. Soon after, I painted it on Les' bass drum head and used up until Tijuana Hit Squad, when they changed to the James Bond-inspired logo with the Luger T.

I think most all of these came from old horror movie posters and are hand drawn, pre-fonts.

Mr. Picky's Birthday Led Sled

Arthur's other present, Revell's chopped '49 Mercury Custom Coupe. The hood flames were left over from the '32 Ford.

Unfortunately, the custom grille we wanted to use was warped beyond repair right from the box, it looked like someone had held a lighter to it. The sealed kit was also missing the metal axle pins and exhaust tips, I chose not to call the Revell hotline.

The stock hood was chosen over the louvered one as well as the stock sombrero wheel covers and white walls instead of the custom mags and black walls. The kit also has stock or custom bumpers and the option of frenched tail lights, which looked like they might need a little filler to be done smoothly so I passed on that option.

Custom skirts, spotlights [we used one] and lake pipes.

The body was primed in light grey on the top and black along the sides. Then it was sprayed Flame Red which was not the "dark, dark red" Mr. Picky wanted so Electric Currant was used for the final coat followed by lots of flame decals.

A look at the three banger under the hood, a very tight squeeze in the engine bay which made this model no fun for about 10 minutes but that was my only building issue. Otherwise, a very cool Merc, the boy has good taste.

Halloween High Boy

One of the models my parents bought for my son's 5th birthday. Arthur called the shots and I built them.

Here we have Revell's '32 Ford Sedan 2'n1. He chose the high boy version, of course, with chrome mags and V-8 Mustang engine.

Arthur's color scheme led to a halloween theme.

The curtains in the back windows and "roof racks" are from an old funeral coach I had in the junkyard. Also added a small spider web decal to lower front windshield.

I liked the Little Deuce Spook better without the flames but I was vetoed.

I think 9 out of 10 five year olds will want the flame decals.

Three 50's Rockers

Brian Holden

1939-1991

The original Ziggy Stardust.

Jalacy Hawkins

1929-2000

What walks on two feet and looks like a goat? It's that crazy Screamin' Jay in a bright yellow coat. I got to see Jay twice around 1989-91 with Bo Diddley Jr. playing guitar.

Wanda was born in 1937.

I've seen her perform quite a few times from 1995 up until a couple of years ago and she still sounds incredible.

A few more scans of rock and blues caricatures from about 12 years ago.

Not Richie Valenz

Ricardo Esteban or Richard Stephen Valenzuela

1941-1959

I guess Bobbo didn't think leaving the 'z' at the end of Valens was cool, too exotic? The addition of the 't' in Richie is an odd choice too, but what do I know? The last good stage name I came up with was 'Molly Ringworm' and I haven't seen 'La Bamba' in a few years.

"Come on, Let's Go", "La Bamba", "Donna", "We Belong Together", "Ooh My Head", "Fast Freight", "Stay Beside Me", "In a Turkish Town" and many more, all packed into an eight- month-long career. A body of work that still sounds fresh over 50 years later, recorded by a 17 year old, killed in an accident three months short of his 18th birthday.

I think that's a lot sadder than Kurt Kobain.

Drawing for a Ritchie Valens painting done for a Dia de los Muertos art show at Flying Panther Tattoo. And of course, I didn't get a picture of the finished painting before I took it in.

2007

Unused Scooter

Watercolor comp for a skate deck series that didn't happen. I don't think Buddy ever saw this one, it may become a larger painting one day.

About 2007

Abandoned Sketchbook Pages

The original sketch of the 'Victor's Secret' idea, much creepier with B.B. King's head.

Unfinished Blind Lemon

About 2008?

The Deja Vu Willys

The AMT/ERTL '33 Willys Coupe

I remember building this same AMT model with my dad in the late 70's with some different box art than this 1989 version I found on eBay a few years ago. I recognized the thin, light blue plastic right away I also recalled this one ending up with an M-80 in the sun roof sometime around 1980, but couldn't remember why this model.

Another one of the half-built cars my son has pestering me about for the last couple years. Last month we did the gold paint, decals and attached the finished body. The hood attached to the front of the chassis and was lowering down over the motor when it stopped about an eighth of an inch short of the firewall. Wait, this had happened to me before.

How it is, so far...

We like it with the hood open and the 427 V-8 showing. The kit came with a roll cage I built by instinct since it was left off of the instructions along with one or two other mystery parts. I think the zoomie headers and rear bumper ended up on the '41 Willys hot rod so I used the stock option headers. This kit also comes with hardtop or "glass" top options for the sunroof, too bad both drop right through the hole. The other unmentioned option was a license plate frame in place of the parachute which was also removed from the instructions for this street rod version of the same gasser kit. Despite the issues I still think old models are the most fun and I might look into fixing the hood problem, one day. Unless we find an M-80 somewhere first. ha ha

Givin' me the Willy's

Revell's Stone, Woods & Cook '41 Willys Gasser in Glacier Blue.

Chris Reynolds bought me this one in 2008 when we both worked at La Jolla Tattoo. I finally put it all together last December since my son had been demanding it for his bedroom.

Thanks Chris

The Swindler, ready for the '64 Winternationals.

Found In a Field North of Kyoto

This AMT Ertl '53 Ford Pickup was the first model box my son got into at age three. Last month we found what was left of the box and decided it's future would be as a rusty wreck with a tree growing from under the hood.

The narrow chassis didn't leave much room for the bonsai tree so I ended up removing it.

Luckily, I found a tree with a thin enough trunk for the hood to fit in place.

The finished product was a 64th birthday gift for my Dad, who happens to like 50's Fords and bonsai trees. The dead Ford in a Japanese garden is a little ironic.