I just finished printing up the latest installment in my
series of
prints commemorating local St. Louis "folk icons" -- legendary comedian and TV star
Redd Foxx! I had done this painting of Redd a while back and was gonna try and capture the same moment, Fred G. Sanford's famous heart-attack pantomime, as well as draw that sweet junk-truck again.
But the more I read up on Redd's life and past, the more I became interested in his early stand-up work, specifically the raunchy image he created through his under-ground "
party records."
I decided to focus on this under-appreciated aspect of his career in my early sketches...
... and went so far as to do a final inked drawing:
Ultimately though I decided that I was losing the power and recognizability of Redd Foxx as an icon with this approach, and just couldn't quite get the composition & colors to work anyway. I went back to the drawing board...
...and did some research via
YouTube to really try and nail Fred Sanford's phony seizure / ascent to see his wife Elizabeth above:
Here's how that ink drawing turned out:
And the finished digital art (white, red & blue ink on chipboard):
These will be available to purchase from me directly (write me if interested) and hopefully at some shoppes & shows around town. I'm gonna take a break from this series - at least until I get some inspiration for new St. Louisians - so it's a good time to complete your set!
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