The Idea
Unicorns typically live in a world of bright colored rainbows and puffy clouds and glitter and all things magical. My first thought was to paint a unicorn opposite of all those things: a rebel unicorn. I sketched out a rainbow with a unicorn that would be either an "emo" or "punk rock" unicorn. The plan was for all grayscale painting, but I didn't quite love that idea enough to start. Then while watching "The Mitch Perry & Friends" jam @ The Standing Room for the 3rd or 4th Sunday in a row (I love this gig!), I was inspired to go "classic rock" with the fan-blown, blonde hair courtesy of Mitch Perry, the sunglasses ala Keith St John, and Kara Turner's mic stand scarf. Then I topped it off a bit of Steven Tyler (sadly, not at the gig, but how cool would that be?): hat, neck scarf, necklace. Instead of a rebel, he became a unicorn who just loves to rock and traded the rainbows for stage lights.
Just in case you were wondering, the unicorn's name is James.
The Process
Mitch Perry & Friends Sunday Jam @ The Standing Room, Hermosa Beach
The Standing Room in Hermosa Beach, CA is an American-Korean fusion gastropub with great food, staff, and rocking bands on the weekend. Back in the spring, Mitch Perry & Friends started an afternoon (4ish to 8ish) Sunday residency. There is a core group of musicians, and surprise guests join them. You never know who will drop in. These musicians come from acclaimed bands, such as Sweet, Edgar Winter, Montrose, Jack Russell's Great White, and BulletBoys. But it's not all rock. They also do blues, funk, and one day a young girl showed up and sang some Dolly Parton. Stop on by. It's a fun time!
ShockBoxx
Jame's the Rock 'n' Roll Unicorn will make his public debut @ ShockBoxx Art Gallery this Saturday, 08/11/18 @ THE USUAL SUSPECTS show. ShockBoxx is an creative space tucked into the light industrial section of Hermosa Beach called "The Cypress District". I definitely recommend following ShockBoxx and checking out their shows @ 636 CYPRESS AVE, HERMOSA BEACH, CA 90254
