Bela Lugosi's Dead

 

I must have listened to this nearly 10 minute tune continuously when I painted this a while back.

With Alice in Wonderland

So…this happened.

Yes, that’s him, the one, the only, Alice Cooper.  The painter and the subject hold the portrait.  When he called me over to the chairs to sit next to him, he said, “That is a great painting.  Just great.”  Others in the room agreed with him.  He held it, showed it to his assistant and asked, “Did you see this?”  He too was impressed.  I had no pre-conceived idea of what was going to happen with the painting.  Initially, I just wanted him to see it.  That, to me, was a priceless concept.  I just wanted him to see it.  When I was up late painting it in 2012, I thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if he could see this someday?”  I  considered he might sign it, so I came prepared for that but didn’t expect it.  As you can see from the photos below, Alice not only signed it, but added a simple word above his signature, “Boo!”  After he signed it with an acrylic paint pen, purchased just for the occasion, he looked it over and said, “I have to write ‘boo’ on it.”  This may not sound like much to most folks, but to me, it shows that not only did he get it, but he took the time to soak it in, think about the tongue-in-cheek spirit of the piece and add to it in the same manner.  The painting of Alice’s smiling severed head was done with a sense of humor, which is something Alice himself injects into all of his work.  I think this is a key element in his recipe for success as a rock legend.  He doesn’t take himself too seriously.  He could.  He’s definitely got the cred, just listen to his body of work with stellar productions and very well written songs.  As he held the painting, he looked it over and asked, “Acrylic?”  I said, “yes.”  “Wow!” he said, “I like acrylic, I went to art school, I worked with acrylic and inks.”  Here I am sitting next to Alice Cooper discussing paint media preferences!  How cool is that.  I expected a classy and comfortable encounter and my expectations were met tenfold.  When I told him the original purpose of the painting, a local contest for artists to submit pieces about their heroes and the winning pieces were chosen for trading card production, he paused and said, “…whoa, well thank you.”  He paused again, “Did you win?”  I said, “Yes.”  “Good” he responded quickly as if to suggest there could have been no other outcome.  So I then produced one of the trading cards with the painting on it.  He grinned and said, “Thank you…this is for me?”  “Yes,” I said.  He responded, “Cool” and opened his jacket, placed it in his shirt breast pocket and said, “That goes, right there.”  He then said, “Now, when someone asks, ‘Mr. Cooper, do you have a card?’ I can say (pulling the card from his pocket) Yes, yes I do.  ‘Do you have Visa?’  No, I have this.”  The entire purpose of the painting for me came full circle as the inspiration not only showed true appreciation and gratitude, but added his own icing to the cake in making my painting a collaborative effort of two artists.  His assistant asked us to pose for pictures and I had hoped to get the two of us holding the painting together in a picture for posterity.  Before I asked, Alice halted the process, and excitedly said, “Let’s take one with the painting!”  So there it is.  Some other fans asked for cards, to which I gave them a few as I had brought the pack for that purpose, not to network or really increase any “business” but to share in the moment.  Mr. Cooper was a courteous and friendly reminder of how rock stars could, or should act toward fans.  So, not quite a Welcome to My Nightmare moment, more like Welcome to My Dream Come True.

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