Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The Devil and Robert Johnson

A little over 100 years ago, Robert Johnson was born in rural Mississippi as one of 10 children.  Before becoming one of the greatest blues guitarists in history, Johnson died at the age of 27 on today's date in 1938.  His legend began and evolved slow and terrible dealings with dark forces.  I'll leave the weaving of much of the lore surrounding his legend to Joebot at Rock Star Martyr with the article for which my illustration was composed on the anniversary of his death today.

My portrait is based around the Faustian myth that Johnson sold his soul to The Devil to become the greatest blues player alive...

"The Devil and Robert Johnson" inks on bristol / 2011
Here are some process pictures starting with the inital line work

The Proposition

What would you sell your soul for?

Finished Line Work


What would be the consequence?






3 comments:

  1. I love this one! I'm catching up on your posts--great content as usual! Hugs and kisses. :)

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  2. Any way I could use this in a promotional poster for a play we're producing featuring Robert Johnson--check the website:
    http://www.artofwny.org/13-14/littlerobert/lr.html

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    Replies
    1. Sorry Matthew but these are for an ongoing project and won't be available for licensing until after the series is published. Thanks for your interest though!

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