Available Now!

 

Above are three screen captures from http://www.frankaxtell.com/adv/index.php/en/ 

It's Frank Axtell's new web site for "A Different Vision." The CD artwork is by Tom Wills.

There are song samples and links for ordering the tunes.

Frank and his cohorts surprised me with a shout out about my work and a link to this page. Here it is:  http://www.frankaxtell.com/adv/index.php/en/80-brochureware/news/86-album-art-by-tom-wills

Frank is a Florida composer/musician/producer. The sketch for the cover of "A Different Vision" was done several months ago, based on a photo, then shipped down South.

This guy can really play!

From his own bio:

With over two decades in the music industry, Frank Axtell is a renowned guitarist and composer who is a major contributor to the South Florida jazz/fusion/rock/blues scene.

He performs with his own jazz ensemble, The Frank Axtell Quartet/Trio. He was chosen as a featured soloist at the Berks Jazz festival in Reading, PA. Frank toured extensively in the 80's and recorded at The Record Plant in the San Francisco Bay area.

Frank attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. He has always taken his continuing course of musical evolution seriously, learning from prominent guitarists Vincent Bredice, Joseph Iodone, Joe Diorio, Scott Henderson, and Jack Wilkins.

Frank has served on the faculty of Miami Dade Community College and The Academy of Fine Arts in West Palm Beach, Fl.

More recently, he teaches guitar clinics and instructs guitar/electric bass/music theory at his studio, Digital Soundscapes, in West Palm Beach, FL. He produces many local artists in addition to composing and engineering his own projects.

Frank Axtell by Tom Wills

Pencil, 3' x 4' 9approx.), January 2011

Property of Frank Axtell

For inquiries about original artwork: hankbonesman@embarqmail.com

I'll Still Draw Your Dog

It's time to make a little room on my walls.

THE RAT PACK

CLINT EASTWOOD

People familiar with my artwork, and my creative process, tell me I'm speedy and prolific. Well, not quite. But I do like to keep myself busy, and I enjoy my drawings, so I like to keep them coming. 

MILES DAVIS

Such an output, however, can create space problems in my cramped basement cave, to the point where I'm storing some sketches in my office at my "real" job.

JOHNNY CASH

JOHN LENNON

The idea here, from the start, has been to make friends and family happy with the freebies, and to make some money along the way with the art of a general nature -- in these cases, familiar faces from the entertainment world.

ARETHA FRANKLIN

The 16 pieces here are on the market, to get them off my walls and make room for more. All of them are in the 2' x 3' or 3' x 4' range, with the exception of Clint Eastwood (1' x 1.5') and Aretha Franklin (about 4' x 5' framed).

DAVID(s) GILMOUR

Each piece is framed, sealed and signed. And, in certain circumstances, I'll deliver in person. 

KEITH RICHARDS

KEITH AND MICK

Have a music room? Movie room? Bar or den?  Consider an original.

THE WHO

PETE TOWNSHEND

Contact me at hankbonesman@embarqmail.com for additional pictures of any drawing, for exact measurements, and for pricing information. These works range in price from $80 to $250. Larger views of these drawings, as well as the stories behind them, can be found on this website.

JIMMY PAGE

BOB SEGER

TODD RUNDGREN

And remember: I'll still draw your dog, cat, kid, car, house, boat or motorcycle. You don't have to be famous.

BILL NELSON

PAUL SIMONON

Original artwork by Tom Wills

No. 2 pencil on posterboard

For inquiries: hankbonesman@embarqmail.com

Aretha Franklin for the Realists

"Aretha 1960" by Tom Wills, June 2011, 3' x 4'
SOLD!

“I sing to the realists; people who accept it like it is.”

It dawned on me that, of all the musicians I had drawn, not one was a woman. And I do love Aretha Franklin and played  through some 20 vinyl LPs as I drew this. I think young Aretha is beautiful.

I wondered, as these discs spun: Who the hell is playing that piano? Great piano ... 

“Aretha Franklin accompanies herself on piano on all selections … “ so state the notes on most of her classic Atlantic records. Her piano playing is as soulful as her voice.

She sings and swings.
Now you know.

Aretha on wax.

Rolling with her at various times are Duane Allman, Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section,  Cornell Dupree, Spooner Oldham, Bobby Womack, King Curtis, Joe South, Joe Zawinul, Ron Carter, Keith Richards, Narada Michael Walden, Billy Preston, Ray Charles, Donny Hathaway, Eric Gale, Dr. John,  James Cleveland,  Curtis Mayfield and … on and on.

Rolling with Aretha

 In the production booth, for nearly all of these classics: Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd. They had hit upon a formula that didn't sound contrived. It was natural as a conversation, with sonic punctuation.

Aretha emerges.

 

The hair is a composite from three separate photos.

Unfinished, after a night drawing the microphone.

It is Soul. Gospel. Rock.  Detroit music.  The Queen.

Variations of Atlantic Records labels.

Surprisingly all of the Atlantic LPs  from Aretha here at Recorded Works Limited are stereo, even the old brown-pink and blue-green labels. Some are worn and noisy. Clearly someone before me wore down those grooves and loved them.

There are many “Arethas” that I do not have, and I keep watch for them. Either they are too worn or people do not want to part with them.

It has to be subtle.

Drawing a black woman is tough. First, you don't want her to look white, so there's a lot of shading involved. Second, you can't shade her to the point where she looks bruised. It has to be subtle. I ran into this same difficulty in drawing Miles Davis last year. He turned out a little light, when in fact he was very dark. I think I did better with Aretha. 

“I'm a big woman. I need big hair.”

Well, her voice has always been big.  And this drawing recalls Aretha as I hope to remember her.  “Young, Gifted & Black.”  (Atlantic SD 7213) She sang it first.

Best heard in heavy rotation on vintage equipment.

Aretha Franklin

Pencil, June 2011, 3’ x 4’

SOLD APRIL 2017

This production is endorsed by Bella'n'Corly!