House of Texas Music was one of our favorite hang out’s down in Austin.   As mentioned in my previous post, one of my Stevie Ray sketches found a home with Ray Hennig.  Never did I imagine they would be as kind to display it front & center.

When we left the shop on Thursday, I figured Ray would hang the picture in the back of his store, he said he did not want it to get stolen. 

Well, we stopped in Saturday before we left, and when Buck held the door for me, there in the front of the store, is my Stevie.

My passion for drawing Stevie is like no other, the lines of his face and that boxer nose of his flow pretty freely with any type of pencil.  He has a unique nose, from a surgery from when he was a young child. 

I am completely honored that in Stevie’s favorite guitar store, hangs one of my sketches.   The store is filled with walls of guitars and nostalgia on the wall.  I spent hours walking around and reading about all the accomplishments of Ray and many of the players that have walked through House of Texas.  1002-1004 South Lamar Street, Austin!

Sitting in the aisle where Stevie found Number One, knowing he sat there for hours felt as if we were living a piece of true blues history.  A man that had a passion, but no cash, rose to fame because of his true love and dedication to what he knew he was supposed to do.  The feelings and emotions that were part of  Stevie’s soul, came out through his music, he left us with so much of it to enjoy. 

But, let’s not forget the man, listening to Ray’s stories, behind this player, was a compassionate, humble and loving person.  For those that knew him, he left a mark way beyond his music.  For those of us who didn’t, we could only hope to be as dedicated and humble to our passions, family & friends.

After a long March, caulked full of bad news, the good news is, we will be in Austin, TX as you read this.  I am a huge fan of the book, Can’t Stop a Comet, by Cutter Brandenburg and have emailed with him back & forth since I purchased his book. 

Some will argue, it’s not all about SRV, but it is about life, and it is about dedication of what friends and people do for one another.  The book is full of information of Cutter’s life on the road, and the people he met, and how they touch his life.

Life is short, NO DOUBT, take that for what it is,  use it, live it, learn it, and continue to grow it.  There is no going back in life, you may be able to correct the wrongs, but you will not be able to re-live the moment. Cherish the people around you and enjoy life. 

Stevie Ray is an icon, he is a legend, his music will envoke in you a person you never knew existed, take the time to listen.  My friend Danny over at Guitar Players Center takes time, each and every night, not only playing his own stuff, but playing the licks, the riff’s and the melodies of those that have shaped our world with music as great as Stevie, Jimi, Lighting and Buddy Guy, plus many, many more. 

As you read this, I am hopeful that I will be meeting up with Cutter and will be able to give to him the piece above, so it can be auctioned off at the 14th Annual SRV  Memorial Ride, along with a brand new piece of Hei Matau Bone Art from New Zealand.   I worked on this piece in one afternoon, dedicated and decided, that this would be the one that I would donate, it shows off the fine Hei Matau Bone Art that Stevie worn later in his career. 

WOW.. that’s truly why I have been drawing this magnificient man.. his bone structure is like no other, the boxer nose, the fine eyes, and those to die for big, beautiful Vaughan hands! When you watch Stevie, take a peek at his arms.. the veins popping and the hands just don’t stop as they hit those notes and cords with astounding passion and love for the music he has left us with. 

~ Soul to Soul

Susie

I have completed the pencil sketch of Captain Jack Sparrow.  This is on pine serving tray, and is in the basement being laquered. 

By using a variety of pencils, I got the “dirty” look of the pirate. 

The scarf is done with a Derewent Drawing Pencil - Sanguine 6220, a major portion of his dreadlocks where done with a dark brown #2453 charcoal.  I do alot of light strokes with the charcoals, and depend on blending to get the correct effect. 

To master the dreadlocks once the entire pencil sketch was finished, I used a paint pen with an overlapping S motion - Pigma Brush #1 Archival Ink AP.  This is a waterproof ink, and just adds a bit of a stand out effect.

~ Soul to Soul

Happy Saturday! Johnny Depp is filling out and coming to life more each day. 

Working on his dreadlocks is always alot of fun, you can let your charcoal pencils just go wild here..I start with a medium brown woodless charcoal brown and I just begin the swirling motion, try doing figure eights.

I will then go in right next to the dark brown with an ebony charcoal, figure eights tightly knitted next to the dark brown will give you a better three dimension effect.  After I get them all in, I will tortillion the lot of them, not with a hard hand, but lightly so that you can get the blend.. then I repeat the above steps with a bit harder touch, so that you can get the dimension going on. 

With the ornamental pieces and jewelry that hangs from his do-rag and the right side, I use a variety of colors from Derwent Graphitint - they have more of a waxy feel to them, so it does make it tough to adjust any mistakes, so be careful and only use these on the jewelry.  You can not go over the waxy element with any other pencil. 

Soul to Soul - Susie