Not Just A Rectangle

TOM WAITS Tom Wills, January 2012

This is a case of the picture and the frame fitting each other. It only took 14 months.

After the cleanup.

Tom Waits is No. 142. Drawn in January 2012, it is one of my favorites because of the craggy details. This one took a long time to produce. The original post for it is here: http://tomwillsproductions.blogspot.com/2012/01/wtf-music.html

At the time, Tom was framed in a black-and-white rectangle. The more I looked at that frame, the more it didn't fit. It seemed too "art deco" for this drawing. It has since found another home, here:  http://tomwillsproductions.blogspot.com/2012/12/no-182-bird-miles-three-deuces-club-1947.html

BIRD & MILES, No. 182, December 2012

Tom Waits lounged on top of the stereo equipment for more than two months, getting dusty and a little curled. I wanted a dark, crusty and heavy frame and eventually found one. It has an almost-purple stain to it, the glass is more than an eighth of an inch thick, and it was quite a piece of shit.

HAROLD AND MARY: Your grandkids don't care.

Now, I have no way of knowing who Harold and Mary were. If they loved their grandkids as much as I suspect, they were fine people.
But I can tell that their survivors are shitheads.
At one point in its lengthy life, this old frame held a lovingly compiled set of photos. Harold and Mary's grandchildren -- all 16 of 'em. (I counted the holes.)
Someone had taken the time to put together a very nice gift.  A keeper.  The centerpiece of the mobile home.
Think about it: Who would throw out such an heirloom? At least they had the good sense -- I hope -- to keep the photographs of little Billy Ray, Jeannie Sue and Frankie Lee, to name a few.
Or, maybe they're in a landfill.
At least I saved the frame.

Some moron from Harold and Mary's kin decided that it would be a good idea to use masking tape to create a star pattern across the glass, signifying: "This is glass. Don't break it."
Do you have any idea how hard it is to strip 40-year-old masking tape off of glass?  It fuses.  I went through a half-bottle of 91 percent isopropyl alcohol and wrecked three rags over a few hours. That stuff is flammable. Everything went to the garage overnight.

The final result was worth the effort. A nice, clean, heavy and almost-purple frame. A keeper, for sure.

Tom Waits and Keith Richards: Beautiful maladies.