I've been warned that this thread hasn't been posted on for 120 days, but to heck with it.

I got a nice email from Rasmus Skotte today about putting my painting in his film. Which made me think of this board.

I've drawn Brian and the boys a little bit lately.

I think I might put some of these up on my etsy store.

Gahh! Someone put it on youtube! NBC.com isn't letting me watch THAT episode because I am in the wrong country. However it did for some reason let me watch the one before with Russell Brand. Hmm, maybe it doesn't us foreigners watch the LAST one for some reason.

I think it's lovely that Brian goes on TV still. I know some untutored folks might look askance at him. I can sympathize with both sides of the argument. But sometimes the oddness or the context-missmatch is part of the delight for those of us who enjoy him. He's still there dammit! And broadly speaking, he seems pretty happy at the moment.

Dear Chloe
I personally love the new 'Heaven Ladder' just as much as the old one. But for the purpose of my esoteric essay, I'll have to stick with the original, where Brian in my book represents 'that lucky old sun'/son. But if that's the sun, where does that other light originate from? - you may very well ask. That's where the esoteric readings could enter. In the new version though, it's obvious that Brian is like the "ol' lazy mister moon (want a getaway)"

So happy you like the new one too.. it's a little different. I look forward to reading your essay. It was always... Brian was always the moon to me. But fascinating to hear your readings of it.

This is a silly sketch in which my wisdom teeth also feature.


     
     

He always looks startled when he's getting his picture these days, so this one seems slightly relaxed..

What was it like meeting him?

And the cleavage is just fine no worries!! 

Well, meeting him was wonderful actually, that particular night was really special. (See the thread I started 'Beach Boys fan Art From an English Mind' for more details.) There was all this business with Brian being shown one of my paintings you see. He did seem on pretty good form to me. It was my favourite Brian in concert experience by far. A really small venue in the cheap end of Bournemouth, near Lidl, not too loud, and close enough for eye contact with the band. Plus it was my first exposure to the LOS music, which felt like a real happening. Brian was very animated and expressive. And apparently when Darian told Brian that I was deaf in my right ear, he was asking questions about how I'd lost my hearing and things. He did seem reasonably relaxed, especially since the camera wasn't working and it took ages. The words 'Sorry Brian' were uttered by my Mum and myself.

Yes, I'm not sure the mutton chops are in my top ten Wilsonian hair decisions.

The best Beach Boys cover ever?? 

I'm sorry, I had to reply to this... two of my major drawing subjects have been the Beach Boys and professional wrestlers, so I could not help myself. It's so gloriously WTF! It is ironic that even though Dennis was the one who's body actually looked a little bit like this, he's inexplicably hiding behind roidy Carl in a show of uncharacteristic shyness.

And as I've posted... is it OK to post pictures of us with Brian? I have been told that this is quite a 'rare' facial expression on Brian, if you were looking at it with a collectable bubblegum card mentality. Also, pardon my cleavage in this picture, I was slightly bothered that it was so on display. Very cute of Darian and Brian, me doing horse face.


     
     

Carl: I guess I was thinking more about 'imagery' than narratives as such... I was getting my hippy brain on. I think I think of Smile as being dense with 'vertical' meaning, evoking visions etc. I'm not very good at thinking in linear narratives straight off.

Claymcc: Thank you about the remake, I'm still getting used to it being finished. I'm so glad you like it.

I understand Brian's reaction too. Before he saw the moon part, his first words were in fact 'How much does she want for it?' Which kind of blew my mind, as they say. And it seemed very sweet and considerate and on the ball of him, somehow. I also enjoyed his disparaging of Nelson's shirt. He enquired whether Nelson was serious about wearing that particular shirt onstage. It was all rather excellent.

I'm not at all offended to be compared to Sendak. That's high praise.

It's a nice idea... who to suggest it to?

I've always felt the Beach Boys music deserves some better visual art/work/interpretation/presentation than they generally got... not that there haven't been some goodies here and there. But whatever a visual equivalent of Smile would be... Smile's quite a tangible comparison, because of it being more intellectual and expansive... I wouldn't know how to paint Pet Sounds and Brian's private thoughts about various women and stuff.

Mike has great visual potential as a character in a Grimm's fairy tale typa setting... 

Sorry, to expand on that....I guess despite having looked at a lot of images of young Brian, I have only actually met/seen recent Brian, and meeting or seeing a person leaves a more powerful impression than a picture does. Especially a person of the calibre of a Brian.

I met him the first time September last year. Sort of had dinner with the band in Bournemouth. I was acquainted with Darian, who was/is interested in my work. I took the painting to show Darian, not even expecting necessarily to meet Brian. But Darian felt he wanted to show Brian, who was eating ribs and guacamole at the time. So that was that. Melinda was there too, I think ultimately, she was less put off by the brian being the moon part of it, she seemed to quite like the picture.

Hi Carl R...

Carl and the harp wasn't consciously directly to do with God Only knows. I wish I could remember exactly its origins. I did a have a sort of quasi visionary dream about God Only Knows though, that involved some heaven, so it was all there in the mix. I was also quite taken with illustrations of ancient musical instruments at the time.

I didn't intentionally make him look like young Murry. I guess sometimes in drawings and paintings underlying family 'structures' can be visible. When you're dealing with the shapes of people without their particular presence and soul distracting from the pure mathematics of form.

And that's interesting about the young Brian sketches looking like older Brian. I hadn't seen that, but you may be right. Perhaps I have tended to make young Brian look a little 'delicate' or vulnerable or something... I've been reading Look Listen Vibrate Smile again, and remembering that 1966 Brian... he had quite a robust sort of a... powerful air about him at that time. I mean, Brian is physically robust, that's part of why he's alive. But at that particular time, though from a girl's point of view he was heartbreakingly cute, on a deeper level there was something kinda strong and sure about the way he looked. At the height of his powers, as it were. Untouchable and impossible. There's more to looks that just shapes... but I have to try and channel the 'more' back into the shapes...

Thank you... well, I might put some drawings up on Etsy that'll be pretty reasonable.

Funnily enough, TODAY I finished this remake of the Moon painting. It's perhaps less obviously attractive, less spacious compositionally. It's quite texturally varied. What do you reckon?


     
     

I like the one that Big Grin posted... it's more convincing somehow. Also, the colours look nicer in that one, less oversaturated, less headache yellow, and kinda warm and inviting. But the garish colours you often see could be to do with cheap printing and scanning processes by bootleg folks... I wonder what the original colours were going to look like? Perhaps the bright yellow would make sense all printed up all big and nice.

NB the American spellchecker is not digging the way I spell 'colours', but I shall stick to my guns.

No it's alright, an eye is a thing you can have. You can have a good eye like you can have a good ear. That was a nice compliment. 

I'm never sure whether to mention this, but I think I've already gone and mentioned it in the past on the internet... When Brian saw the ladder one, 'Light the Lamp' or 'Heaven Ladder' as it's more mundanely called... and I mean saw it in real life, holding it in his hands... which was all a little bit much for me.... He was immediately interested in buying it. which I hope means, he liked it. He then realised that it was his face in the moon, and got a little self-conscious abut it. But I hope that his attraction to the painting was something to do with the fact that it was, in a sense, made for him.


     
     

Thank you very much... You're very kind.

I don't know quite what to make of the old ones. There is certainly a lot of 'feeling' in them.

Actually I've got two eyes, thankfully, but only one functioning ear. I could give Brian my good ear as long as I got to keep both my eyes. He wouldn't have to donate me an eye, because then I'd have three and that's frankly too many.


     
     

It's wonderful that you did this... I don't have much to add, just wanted to lend my approval.

Well, yes, the drawing you're seeing there is the post-dirtcat version so it's not too bad. It gives it character.

NB. The one with Brian Carl and Al next to the tree ('The Beach Boys in Thorncombe Woods') is currently owned by Darian Sahanaja.


     
     

Thank you, Phirnis... unfortunately a muddy cat sat on that drawing. But I shall persevere until I have a much more confident grasp of all the fundamental Beach Boy shapes. The fantasy is to be able to draw them from memory, from every angle and in every era. But some kind of compromise towards that goal would do.

And going back to Rasmus' comment... I had no idea that my painting had taken on a folk-name. That's really something. On the subject of that painting, I am currently working on finishing a second version of it that was begun in early 2004. I have VERY nearly finished that. It has more ultramarine and red.

Heavens! I'm glad I chose today to post now... thank you!

Hello lovely Beach Boys media consumers.

I'm Chloe, I used to post 'here' years ago, 2003, just pre the announcement of the Smile concerts, when I was younger and full of quasi-religious fervour for things Brian and things 1966. I think I started a thread called 'Smile as a revelation'.

Some of you have seen my BBs fan art elsewhere, I daresay, but I thought it might be worth posting it again for anyone who's interested. A lot of the paintings here are from around 2003. Some of the drawings are newer. Clicking on the various images will take you to a number of different places on the internet where they live.


     
     


     
     


     
     


     
     


     
     


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Recently I went a bit nuts with Dennis, as it were. I don't plan on extreme caricature being my goal with the neo-BeachBoys phase, but the process helps one get a grasp of the faces.


     
     

Just for a kinda change of pace, here's Nelson Bragg. He had this picture as his myspace avatar recently. Click it to find it in his myspace photo album.


     
     

Some more of the older ethereal ones...


     
     


     
     


     
     

I'll leave it at that for now. There are a few more.

Some of these are still for sale, if anyone's wondering. Though I would rather like to put the best ones in a show sometime.

Anyone who wants to can add me on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/chloepaintings

or facebook, even:  http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=684077814

Thank you all for looking!