Watermelon man

1997-2002ish

Acrylic and What Hi-Fi Magazine on hardboard

30ish cm by maybe 4m

OK, so this is supposed to be the way I hear Watermelon Man by Herbie Hancock: the funky "Headhunters" album version with all the African instruments. They've done a very thorough job of keeping the mp3 off the web, so the best i can give you to listen to is the first minute.

It's a triptych with each of the three panels representing a different stage in the tune, and the animals different instruments. There is some left to right chronology, but this is not strict within each panel. I thought when I started it that the music was somehow orange and blue, but I've since noticed that the album sleeve is these colours, so maybe I'm just easily led.
…and I've been adding things to it for 5 years. I know it's not complete, but I can't work out what it needs, suggestions on a postcard.

Unfortunately as a large picture with small details, it's not always easy to see whats going on, so click links in the text to zoom in.

Watermelon Man Panel 1

I think, aesthetically, I prefer this panel on it's own to the whole triptych, although it would then loose its point. It's the only finished panel: It's simple and painted itself, really, while the other two are kinda bogged down and still missing something. The circles are the noise made by whatever wind instrument makes odd noises at the beginning of the tune. Their positions very vaguely represent notes and rhythms. The little birds (loosely pinched from a wall hanging my granny has) are calling to each other with these noises. The panel tries to tell a simple story about them.

Watermelon Man Panel 2

I think this Panel is almost finished now. The self portrait needs decorating in a similar way to the ostrich. Maybe some other bits and bobs, I'm not sure. Anyway, lot's of fun with pouring paint. A darker feel as the birds from the intro stop calling are absorbed into the funk. The ostrich is the bass and the storks are the twangy guitar. I suppose I should put the piano in somehow as that's supposed to be the important bit. I guess it's in the blue background, along with the sax and drums.

Watermelon Man Panel 3

This panel represents the end of the piece, which to me has a feeling that it is over the hard bit and is able to glide from here on. This is what the casually strolling baboons are supposed to show. The funky jazz has now totally taken over, and is the blue background. And then little birds from the introduction return on top of this, so here they are in orange circles rather than blue, but the same rhythm. The final triumphal ginger baboon was built up with layers of thick lumpy paint, and then sanded to reveal the different shades.

These paintings came out of a period of experimenting with painting images back into random, chaotic patterns (click to see). It is my second attempt to paint the sound of a piece of music, after Fools gold, by the stone Roses (click to see). In Watermelon Man I have tried less hard to literally follow the tune. As a result it is freer and simpler and I feel it has more successfully captured the feeling of the music. Hopefully, when I paint another tune then I may get it right.