"The blues were created by people who’s entire lives were spent in one extreme situation after another, immeasurable pain and hardship."

Jim Doody: Colors Blues Dimensions

Jim Doody is a watercolor artist from Costa Mesa, California. One of his specialties is blues art, blues guitar players and hand-painted Fender guitars. Jim Blues Art watercolor portraits giclee prints capture the heart and soul of the blues. South side of Chicago native watercolor artist Jim Doody specializes in blues guitar folk art, hand painted custom Fender guitars and Harley Davidson Motorcycles. Jim paints his blues music-inspired art with his ears, as well as with his eyes and hands. Like a twelve-bar blues song, Jim’s compositions are simple, yet detailed, colorful, expressive, direct and to the point. And every time you experience them, you discover something new.

The vivid colors. Vibrant. Unpredictable. Expressive. Colors creating their own energy, depth, mood, and sense of motion. The exaggerated perspective gives each piece a unique dimension. And the attention to detail captures the character, authenticity and integrity of each visionary musician and their instrument. The stark white backgrounds symbolize the purity and originality of their sound. In addition to his originals and giclee reproductions, Jim has painted guitars for the Fender Custom Shop in Corona, California. Two of these custom hand-painted guitars are now owned by Blues legend Buddy Guy. Jim says: "When I draw and paint my subjects, I think of how these mostly untrained musicians could take the same instrument, like the guitar or harmonica, and make them sound so different. Their songs range from overwhelmingly melancholy to downright comical, often in the same line. A life lesson in every bar. Like when B.B. King said "Nobody loves me but my mother…but she could be jivin’ too!" It might be a "Mean Old’ World," but through their music, we’ll always have something to smile about."

Jim has some wonderful portraits with: Albert Collins- Albert King - B.B. King - Billy Gibbons  - Bob Marley - Buddy Guy - Duane Allman - Dizzy Gillespie - Earl Hooker  - Earl King - Eric Clapton - Gatemouth Brown - Hound Dog Taylor - Jerry Garcia - Jimi Hendrix - Johnny Winter - Lightnin Hopkins - Luther Allison - Muddy Waters - Ornette Coleman  - Otis Rush - Robbie Robertson - Slash - Stevie Ray Vaughn - Taj Mahal and many more.

Interview by Michael Limnios

When was your first desire to become involved in the painting?  

When I was about ten or eleven, I was really interested in the ancient Greeks and Romans. Sparta, Athens and Rome, especially the military aspects. I used to copy paintings of battle scenes from a National Geographic book titled “GREECE AND ROME Builders Of Our World.” They had these great paintings of battles, such as Thermopylae, Cannae, Granicus. Of course my paintings didn’t look like the paintings in National Geographic either. I would look at them for hours and try to emulate them.

What does “Art” and “Blues” offered you? What do you learn about yourself from the colors and the blues? 

They both give me inspiration and a creative outlet. I learned to have faith in my artistic abilities, like when I did my first ‘real’ portrait of an actual musician, which was Muddy Waters. I never thought I could do likenesses that well. But I was so moved by the music that I pushed myself into trying something new and unknown. And now portraits are what I am known for. Getting a likeness right is one of the greatest highs I can think of. "Gatemouth" Brown. Artwork by © Jim Doody

What characterize Jim Doody’s work & progress, how do you describe your philosophy about the ART? 

Right now I have two portraits on hold. One is of Keith Richards and the other is of John Lee Hooker. I’ve done some watercolor studies of Keith, but I’ve been doing a lot of cartoon work and acrylic desert landscapes lately. Plus they changed the formula of the watercolor paper I was used to, so I have to find a new paper that suits my style of watercolor painting and still gives me the same look, which is no easy task. I have sometimes been forced to explore new mediums, other times I try them out of curiosity or by something I’ve seen. I just started doing stop action animation, as in drawing each cell by hand, photographing it, scanning it and editing it on the computer. I am also getting into Claymation. You can see some of my clips in the You Tube section on my website at Doodydoodles.com. I do whatever appeals to me. If I try to do art that I think someone else “might” want, it feels like hard labor and doesn’t turn out very well. On the other hand, I’ve been a professional freelance illustrator and cartoonist for thirty years and have done several pieces on commission, which have always turned out very well.

What first attracted you to the Blues and how has the blues music changed your life? 

In 1971, when I was a freshman in high school, I heard B.B. King’s “Don’t Ask Me No Questions” and “Move Underground” from his Indianola Mississippi Seeds album. I was floored. The blues has taught me that even in the face of adversity and tragedy, you should never lose your sense of humor and the ability to poke fun at yourself.

Earl King and Lightnin Hopkins. Artwork by © Jim Doody

Some music styles can be fads but the blues is always with us. Why do think that is?  

The blues are the root of so many musical styles, from rock to rap and hip-hop. The blues were created by people who’s entire lives were spent in one extreme situation after another, immeasurable pain and hardship. As I understand it, the blues evolved from the field hollers of the slaves on the plantations. Many of the lyrics were code so their overseers wouldn’t know what they were talking about. They were the original protest songs.

What are some of the most memorable drawing and paintings you've had?  

One of my most memorable drawings was a cartoon I did at the first ad agency I had ever worked for. I was on the verge of getting fired every day because I didn’t know type specing (this was pre computer) and was just too inexperienced. It was a very busy shop. They needed a concept for an ad. The client had been shown dozens of concepts over the previous months but wasn’t happy with any of them. I came up with a two-part headline and a two-part cartoon to go with it. When I presented it, everyone loved it. They called the client right away and had him come to the agency. He approved the ad right there on the spot.  I had never really thought of myself as a cartoonist. The Client loved the ad and everybody loved the cartoon. It was a very successful and long running ad. After that, they always came to me for the big ideas. And cartoons. Another memorable moment was my first watercolor portrait of Muddy Waters, because it really looked like him.

B.B. King and Maddy Waters. Artwork by © Jim Doody

From whom have you have learned the most secrets about the art and the blues?

A lot of what I know about art came from experimenting when working on my own projects. I’ve learned so much about watercolor from working on my blues guitar portraits. My sister Patty, who teaches animation at a high school in Temecula, California has taught me a lot about adjusting and mixing colors with oils and acrylics. She also gave me the push to get into animation.

Which was the best moment of your career and which was the worst? 

The best moment in my career was having the guitars I painted for the Fender Custom Shop in Corona, California featured in a book titled “THE DREAM FACTORY: Fender Custom Shop” by Tom Wheeler. This is a book about some of the most memorable guitars created by the builders in the Fender Custom shop. Tom Wheeler has written several other books about Fender guitars. All his books have been endorsed by Fender. On page 455 you can see a large picture of Buddy Guy holding the Buddy Guy Strat that I painted, when it was given to him for his 80^th birthday. It is such an honor to be in that book. Another great moment was my first San Francisco Blues Festival in 2005. It was my first blues festival and I sold a lot of my blues art prints. People were standing in line at my booth to buy them. It was held at Fort Mason, right on San Francisco Bay. The sun was out and my brother flew in from Arizona to hang out. I tend not to look at anything as being the ‘worst’ in my art career because I have always learned from unpleasant experiences. They make me appreciate the good experiences even more.

How does the blues music come out of your art? What kind of music you hear when you are on progress?

The music really comes out in the faces and hands of the artists I am drawing and painting. It comes out in their facial expressions, their eyes, the way the hold the pick and fretboard and the colors I use. It also comes out through their body language. Their songs are playing through my head when I am drawing or painting them. It’s something you can feel. It also comes out in the guitars I am painting also. Most of my paintings were actually experiments. I thought of the chances the musicians were taking in playing a song or a lick a certain way and started adding colors or color combinations to where you would least expect it. It also comes out in drawing the face or hands over and over again to get it right.                                  Albert Collins Artwork by © Jim Doody

You have pretty interesting project painted guitars. Where did you get that idea? 

The Fender Custom Shop in Corona, California approached me to paint three custom guitars. The first one was a Telecaster to be painted any way I wanted. It was for the 2003 NAMM Show. Since I grew up on the South Side of Chicago, the birthplace of the electric blues, I chose to paint Muddy Water against a backdrop of a South Side street scene. The background scene was a compilation of all the famous blues clubs, bars, dives and taverns the blues was played in on the South Side. I also put in other elements of the streets. On the back of the Tele, I painted the outside of Pepper’s Lounge, where Muddy, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy and Magic Sam played.  Just the thought that these places were located in some of the roughest, most impoverished neighborhoods in Chicago and looked like they were ready to fall down, yet you could hear the most original, moving and powerful music ever made on a nightly basis for a fifty cent cover charge. A year later Fender also asked me to paint a “Chicago Blues” themed Stratocaster and Telecaster set.  Since the Telecaster came first and was Muddy’s guitar of choice, it represented he first generation of Chicago electric blues, so I painted another Muddy Waters Tele. This time I put the “L” train, which is a well-known symbol of Chicago, in the backdrop. And since Buddy Guy represented the second generation of Chicago Electric blues, I painted a Buddy Guy Stratocaster. Again I used elements from the places Buddy played at, like a matchbook from Teresa’s lounge on south Indiana Avenue. The backdrop was a more modern day skyline of downtown Chicago.

Are there any memories with Buddy Guy and others bluesmen, which you’d like to share with us? 

I have never met Buddy Guy, but my greatest memory of seeing a picture of him holding one of the Chicago Blues Series guitars that I painted for Fender and was given to him on his 80^th birthday. I was told that when he was given that guitar, he took the guitar into is office and wouldn’t let anyone even touch it except for his stage manager. They said he went to the same Guitar Center in Arlington Heights, Illinois to buy the other guitar, the Muddy Waters Telecaster, himself. It did see Buddy perform live at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, California. He played with a real long cord and walked all the way into the bathroom and played there. The guys in the stalls had quite a surprise.

Who from the musicians you have drew and paint, had the easiest pure original attributes for your painting?

Johnny Winter. He’s very distinctive physically to begin with. He has arms like tattooed pipe cleaners. Add to that the black hat he always wears, the white blond hair and the Gibson Thunderbird axe, the drawing came pretty quickly.

Would you mind telling me your most vivid memory from your inspiration to make a portrait?

The music inspires me a lot. On the other hand, I saw this photograph of Albert Collins playing at the San Francisco Blues Festival with Robert Cray. It was a candid shot in black and white. Albert Collins looked like such a bad ass I decided right there that I was going to do a rendering of that picture. It gave me goose bumps, especially when I nailed his likeness. I love his music. My favorite Albert Collins song is “Too Many Dirty Dishes.”

Which memory during of your progress makes you smile?

Getting someone’s likeness for the first time and getting it again when I paint the final portrait. Sometimes when you add paint you can lose something in the translation. Painting someone’s portrait is like jumping out of an airplane with a parachute. It’s scary, but you have to have faith in your ability to pull it off, like hoping the chute opens. When you finally nail the likeness, its like the chute opens and you enjoy the exhilarating ride back to Earth. I also enjoy experimenting with new painting techniques and in the process, discovering another tool or method I can use in my paintings.

Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton. Artwork by © Jim Doody

Which of the musicians were the most “difficult” and which was the most “gifted” on brush, canvas and colors?

Eric Clapton and Carlos Santana were the hardest to capture their likenesses, their faces. Even if you come close to getting their image and other people can tell who you are drawing, if it isn’t “right on”, it looks like crap. Even if it’s just a little off, I can still tell.  It took me 4 months to get Santana right and 7 months to draw and paint Clapton right. Sometimes you really have to push yourself and stay with it, or you’ll always say, “I could have done that one better” every time you look at that certain portrait. It will drive you crazy. It’s worth the time.

What is it that draws (inspiration) you to paint an artist? To whom you would like to donate one of their paintings?

Initially it’s the artist’s music and his life story that inspire me to paint them. These people have led very extraordinary lives and have overcome tragedies and other personal obstacles. I paint the musicians that I admire most of who have left the biggest influence on music. Duane Allman is my all-time favorite, but he never gets any of the credit he’s due, probably because he died so young and for other reasons. I don’t know who I’d like to give a painting to. People are always giving musicians artwork, so much that they end up sticking it in a room somewhere. Like “Enough already!”

What is your painting DREAM? Which of historical blues personalities would you like to meet and drew?

I’d like to meet them all. Duane Allman, Muddy Waters and Albert Collins would be at the top of my list.

Duane Allman Artwork by © Jim Doody

How you would spend a day with Jerry Garcia and Duane Allman? What would you say to Albert Collins?

I’d want to drive around San Francisco and watch the Dead play in Golden Gate Park with Jerry and drive cross-country with Duane. I would ask Albert Collins how he arrived at those unusual capo settings he used in all his music. I would also like to visit the area where he grew up in Texas.

What would you like to ask Albert and B.B King? What advice would you give to Hendrix and Earl Hooker?

I would ask Albert King and B.B. King how old they were when they started writing songs, and what did those songs talked about. I’d ask them what is the most fun part of touring, and where is your favorite place to go or to play, and what or who first inspired you to pick up your first guitar. If there is advice I wish that Hendrix or Earl Hooker would have been taken is to stay away from the poison. I’m sure they were warned, but sometimes you feel bulletproof until it’s too late.

When we talk about blues, we usually refer to memories and moments of the past. Apart from the old cats of blues, do you believe in the existence of real blues nowadays?

I believe it still exists, but it’s harder to find. I heard a song just yesterday, a great 12 bar blues song with very original, but still very classic blues lyrics. Very relevent. These days with all the social, political and economic turmoil in the U.S., just like in Greece, theirs is plenty of material for the blues. But a lot of the younger people are into hip-hop or pop. There is a newer generation of blues artists like Robert Cray, Shemekia Copeland, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Eric Sardinas, Jimmie Vaughan and some lesser known but just as talented blues artists, but they are far from main stream. But when you think of it, back in their prime, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Luther Allison, Otis Rush, Lightnin’ Hopkins weren’t mainstream either. Los Lobos does some great blues, too. David Hidalgo has an incredible voice. He and Ceasar Rosas are awesome singers and guitar players. The Neville Brothers are still around and so is Dr. John.

Jim Doody - official website

Stevie Ray Vaughan Artwork by © Jim Doody