People often wonder how a painting is inspired. Mine started with a National Geographic Photo I tore out and put in my sketchbook. I thought his teeth were horrendous and I wanted to paint them. I thought as awful as his teeth were he was happy, had loving arms around his shoulders and it made me smile. So I did a wee sketch that then led to the painting below. As I started sketching I was listening to a bbc radio documentary about Highway 61 and the birth of the delta blues, the great migration north and the struggles they faced trying to reach north. I thought of all those men who died along the way who wouldn't feel the loving embrace anymore.
Highway 61Oil on canvas 12"x12"
"from the 1920s, the music and the musicians began to drift north to Chicago with the great black migration out of the South. Highway 61 became the Blues Highway, carrying the music to a wider world. "
Delta Blues
