For me personally, if this Covid situation and consequent lockdown has been good for one thing, it is that it has ignited my passion for painting. I’d not painted since school, having gone down a more musical route, but with more time on my hand and being inspired by friends and other artists in Leeds I decided to invest in the right equipment and get creative…
As many music fans will be aware, legendary DJ and producer Andrew Weatherall passed away on 17th February 2020 aged 56. Andrew was a trailblazer, a pioneer, an immense DJ, a highly original and uncompromising producer, a larger-than-life character and so much more. He was probably the DJ that I had seen play the most and every single time was a unique, visceral experience, a journey through psychedelic acid sounds, melodies and basslines. Often Andrew would play for 6 hours or more, particularly with Sean Johnston as ALFOS. Unlike many ‘big-name’ DJs in addition playing festivals and the big cities they would play at pubs and social clubs in small towns all across the country, spreading the acid house gospel.
It’s quite difficult to sum up what he meant to so many people in just a few paragraphs and the outpouring of grief and shock when he died came from so many corners of the music scene and beyond. Most of all, for me, Andrew represented the punk ethos, of doing it your own way, being original and not following the latest fads and trends. That ideal is something I’ve always embraced with everything creative that I’ve done. So, I felt the best way for me to pay respects to the man would be to paint him for my first portrait piece. I started in acrylics but then as the piece progressed decided to begin experimenting with oils. Whilst spending a lot of weeks on the fine details and learning how to use these new mediums, I felt like Andrew was still inspiring me from the heavens…
I can’t really judge it for myself as I’ve spent too much time on it, but hopefully I’ve done some justice to the legend and people like it.
Cheers, to Andrew x