Description Thomas Alan 'Tom' Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, composer and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding 'like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car.'[1] With this trademark growl, his incorporation of pre-rock music styles such as blues, jazz, and vaudeville, and experimental tendencies verging on industrial music,[2] Waits has built up a distinctive musical persona. He has worked as a composer for movies and musical plays and as a supporting actor in films, including Down By Law and Bram Stoker's Dracula. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his soundtrack work on One from the Heart.Lyrically, Waits' songs frequently present atmospheric portrayals of grotesque, often seedy characters and places although he has also shown a penchant for more conventional ballads. He has a cult following and has influenced subsequent songwriters despite having little radio or music video support. His songs are best-known to the general public in the form of cover versions by more visible artists, 'Jersey Girl,' performed by Bruce Springsteen and 'Downtown Train,' performed by Rod Stewart. Although Waits' albums have met with mixed commercial success in his native United States, they have occasionally achieved gold album sales status in other countries. He has been nominated for a number of major music awards and has won Grammy Awards for two albums, Bone Machine and Mule Variations.
Eric Dee, Boulder Colorado Member Since June 2008 Artist Statement I started painting in the late 70's but would paint typically 2 or so paintings a year. I experimented with everything from portraits and nudes to landscapes. But I was a Rambler, and a bit of an adventurer who suddenly found himself far from his Canadian home and Married with Children and living and starting a career in the corp. world in the mid 80's.
My oil paints and brushes and tools went into a box and wasn't opened again for almost 20 years in late 2007. They had all melted together from years in 100+ degree garage heat and rendered useless other than to stir up old emotions
So I restocked. I had a vision to attack the subject of celebrity portraits in basic monochrome and focus on trying to capture the essence of the character. And so I start with a blank canvas and I paint until all I can hear is the artist perform ( in the case of the musicians at least ) in my head. Then it's time for another. I can't stop this time. I feel like I need to make up for 20 years.
The kids have grown, the Wife is gone and I intend to take this art thing as far as it will go. Welcome to my new adventure. Please feel free to ride along with me. I will do my best to update often. There will be some pieces off on temporary tangents but I have so many artists and talent to pay tribute to and I hope to stay focused on the intended format for the most part.
Comments are very welcome. Offers to buy are also appreciated and welcome.