1991
Late Figurative, Neo-Classicism Oil on canvas
(Joni Mitchell, quoted from Miles Electric - A Different Kind Of Blue)
I spent the days after his death painting a portrait of him as I frequently do when I lose somebody that I cared for, and a... this... Wayne took a look at the painting and he said a... "Well you painted him a kinda blue", the skin tone 'cuz he had that magnificent mahogany colour y'know in my rendition of it was kinda blue.
(from: A Conversation with Joni Mitchell by Daniel Levitin © Grammy Magazine March 1997) JM: Yeah, he liked my painting and he'd seen this print that a mutual friend of ours had and he called me up, (whispers) 'Joni, I like that painting that you did. Nice colors. I want to come over and watch you paint.' So he would talk painting but he wouldn't talk music with me. He never would talk music.
DL: So you knew him?
JM: A little bit. I approached him on many occasions to play with me see, and he wouldn't play with me. When he died, his son inherited his record collection, and he said to me, "Joni, did you give Dad all your records?"
I said "no, on a couple of occasions I gave him just a tape that I wanted him to play on and an art print to bribe him, or something (laughs)..."
He said, "well he had all your records. And at the end he moved your print from the bathroom up to the side of his bed."
And I thought he must have just been getting ready play with me when he died.
I went to see him four days before he died, along with Wayne Shorter and a whole group of us. He was playing at the Hollywood Bowl, and I walked into the dressing room, and Miles had his hand on Wayne's shoulder and he was talking music to him.
This was unusual, because Miles never talked music; he ordinarily didn't give a lot of instruction. After the show I asked Wayne what they were talking about, and Wayne said that Miles was kind of passing the baton to him. He must have known he was gonna die ...
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Kit Autry on :
Think the color's you picked were Brilliant. You captured the true essence of the Man. There is great depth in this portrait. You are Kind with Blue. Peace. KIT
Tinar on :
here is another meaning to "Turbulent Indigo"...love this...and love the back story...wow...what a blessing the intersection however oblique, of these two geniuses
Hey Bozito,,,Dude..please chill out..this is not a forum for every thought that comes in your head...you have undoubtedly scared everyone else away..please...quiet now
bozito on :
Joni had a chance to face her own mortality. She's wrapped up in immortality, which is obvious to her too. Painting, music, writing -- these are things humans do that reflect the world like imperfect mirrors. As self-portraits, as egos and even egoless we are still imperfect mirrors of the universe / YoniVerse. She has painted him serious, hand to chin thoughtful, silent, perhaps reclusive; is that what his music was though? Where is her painting of His Work? I'd like to see that, more, much more -- a whole series in fact. This could be the start of a great series of studies, of paintings all about Miles, which would teach her about herself and inspire her I think to dare new directions! This work is a great achievement but it is only a beginning, a necessity, a Euclidean proof, an exercise, for it shows that the subject has been mastered for getting at the inner context of the man -- but it lacks the output and input -- what we have is the thruput appearance. She worked hard to get that I believe but now she needs to work harder and dig deeper. She needs to state what the man had to work with and what he was able to accomplish with the tool he was, the self-portrait he was to music. That, she can well understand I think! Who else is qualified to paint it? I can think of no one else!! Go for it, Joni!! ~~c.gar
bozito on :
Like all art, this is a self-portrait. Joni renders herself in animus blue midnight mystery,with starry highlights. It's a work, so there's a hand, like the hand signature in cave-paintings. She's honoring work. Work = Force * Distance in old physics, and here one can FEEL that the work is cerebral and cathectic; in fact, it is the driving cathexis that is the FORCE of Life that motivates the Death HONOR. Her Master is dying, or d3ad, and she is at the ROOT of the word HONOR, which is HONI, the Circle-Drawing Rain- Bringer of "The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered." In the old days, a CONE of stones was the way men were HONORED, and the virtue was one of the few means by which a man could raise his stature in society. But she has painted the pile of stones and cone falsely, alive. His eyes should be closed and his mouth open to show that his spirit has been fully released unto the World, imho. cigar
markseibold on :
Coming from an award winning astronomy artist, I say it is a masterpiece of the universe! Like all of Joni's works. And rightfully so as Miles also was.
Rab on :
I think Miles would have been thinking 'what am I thinking?'...I think.
HankD on :
I really like this painting, although it's very portrait like. I just love it. And the wonderfully painted hand in the foreground, just fantastic.
Hendo on :
Its like one artist did the face (excellent)and a novice did the rest.