| Musician and genuine artist. Spence was the first drummer for the Jefferson Airplane, then left to play guitar with Moby Grape. One of the very best friends I ever had and one of the biggest influences in my life. He was the first person to encourage me to take up the arts. He played any instrument he could get his hands on. Used to tell me "I might be stupid, but I'm not so stupid that I can't play an instrument." I applied that philosophy when I took up painting. On his album "Oar" he wrote all the songs, played all the instruments, sang all the vocal tracks, and produced it. He was the first, to my knowledge, to do that. I first got into radio to promote one of his bands, I think "The Yankees" with friend Rick Townsend. This is the best portrait that I painted of him. It's one of my very best portraits, and has hung prominantly in my studio since it was painted in 1982. I just found out he passed on 4/16/99. Check out Spence in Moby Grape. He's the one with the guitar with the bullhorns. It was a custom one he had made. He never played that guitar with the Grape, but that guitar personified Spence to me, so I put it in the Grape picture when I did it, a number of years ago. Spence Gallery. |
Oil on Canvas |
14" x 11" |
Galleries
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