Drake

It’s been a while huh?

Here is Drake. She was named by a talented young man on the other side of the world and her livery reminds me of Maori body art. The compass influenced the choice of name and by giving the guitar an identity, I think we elevate these things from the functional to the personal. They change (for me) from simply ‘wood and wire’ to instruments that resonate with our personalities. They become our voices, our muses and our friends.

I guess this is why I paint ’em. Each one is different and each one will someday be someone’s friend and confidant. I hope Drake finds a good home. Happy sailing kid.

Behind the scenes in New Zealand

Jamie very kindly sent me some images of the process of painting the Maori guitar. I think it’s the painstaking attention to detail and the fact that he had to wait 2 days between painting certain areas that make this stand out as a truly ‘labour of love’ guitar.

Again; well done sir and thanks for the images.

My Friend Jamie

Here is my lovely friend Jamie Nicholson’s Guitar. Pretty cool huh? I didn’t paint this one, but it certainly provides lots of inspiration.

Here’s what Jamie had to say about it – “this is a lovely guitar I bought from a Brazilian friend, hence the Brazil flag; he lived with a Maori family for a year in New Zealand and they did the design for him. Unfortunately his visa ran out and had to go back to his motherland, but he left me with this gem. To honour him and the Maori family, I coloured the design all in woodstain, which was difficult because each shade takes two days to dry. If you paint one colour next to another, they bleed badly, so you do one colour, and wait…Anyway finally she’s done and I’m pretty happy!”

Awesome young Jamie; awesome!