No. 3: It's A Groove

"It's A Groove," by Tom Wills, 2010

If I can pick favorites, No. 3, "It's A Groove," from 2010, would be one of them -- even though there is so much technically wrong with it that I sometimes cringe.
Even so, I like the grooves in this one.

This study in shapes and shadows is among the earliest of my work. Of my first 32 pictures, only two are not canines. I guess you could say that I made a bunch of dogs, early on.
So why does this one resonate with me?

It's because I grew up in a house full of records. We had a stereo in the rec room and I'd sit on the steps when I was 3 just to reach the thing.

I used to drag my dad to Kresge's and Trumbull Camera and Hobby to buy '45s and, rarely, expensive albums. Every year there would be more and more, and that continues today. There are mountains of vinyl here and just as much equipment. And I'm the guy who dusts it all.

Drawing this one took a long time, mostly due to inexperience.  There was a lot of learning as I went along, and there still is. I kept adding more and more piles of records to flesh out the image. It is huge.

At first this thing had a rather nasty green frame.  I had always hated the lettering so I did go back in 2015 and touch that up. I still hate the lettering. I re-framed the piece this year, putting it into a seriously proper, heavy frame and under a nice mat.  This morning I put a nice backing on it, stickered and signed it, and re-wired it.

I guess the image as a whole defines me, in large part.
If you find your groove, make it a deep one.