Excerpt from the Blondie Review Magazine
When we first saw this painting, we knew we had to share it with our readers. It’s earthy “ice cream ” tones along with just the right focus on distinctive facial features captures everything that is Deborah Harry. – Editor.
Since I was old enough to hold a paint brush I have painted. Born and raised near Glasgow, Scotland, visual arts have always had meaning for me. Glasgow is a fantastic city, put anything you have heard to one side: it is a city with a heart and it’s people are genuine.
Glasgow loves Blondie!
I first saw Blondie on Top Of The Pops around 1977 when I was 11 years old. I remember like many kids and adults alike at that time, being blown away. Not only was I impressed, but I remember the room coming to a stop. My older brother and sister, who were in thir late teens/early twenties at the time were equally impressed by the performance, which meant that this band just had to be cool! It wan’t long before I had Debbie Harry posters on the wall and played Parallel Lines until the grooves were nearly through to the other side of the disc. I recall a new year performance (we call it Hogmanay) when Blondie played the legendary Glasgow Apollo Theatre and it was broadcast live on British T.V. It was 1980. Things just got better as far as I was concerned. When Atomic was No 1 in the UK, I thought it was just about the most perfect chart topper I had ever heard: today I still believe that. When Chris was ill and Debbie went quiet, I still played my Blondie albums. I really loved the pop that Debbie released over the following years. I think Def, Dumb & Blonde is a superb album and I still play it regularly today. I never saw Deborah Harry live until around 1992 when she appeared at the Glasgow Barrowland. It was sold out and I was confined to the back of the hall. Mesmerized when Debbie took to the stage, you could sense the disappointment in the crowd when she did a moody version of “The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game”. This was altered in a split second towards the end of the song when the familiar intro of “Call Me” burst across the crowd and Debbie hit us all between the eyes…and right in the heart. I remember thinking, “Now that was an amazing way to start a gig!”
Blondie Magazine
In 1984 I began 4 years studying design in Glasgow. It was a good grounding, not only in interior design, but in design generally. In the first year, little interior design was taught as it was mainly painting and graphics classes which I attended. On graduating in 1988, I went to work for a corporate interiors company designing office interiors for anything from small Scottish companies up to large multinationals such as Motorola, Crucial and Bank of Bermuda. In my early 30′s I was made Design Director and all seemed well. Throughout this time, I continued to paint but I was working mainly on Scottish landscapes and traditional watercolours. In January of 2004, I began to feel unwell and struggled through my hectic daily work life each day for over a month until I could struggle no more. I had no energy, my vision was faltering and my balance was off. Months off work followed followed along with a diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. This thing was not going to beat me. On the days that I felt good enough, I decided that I would paint. I loved to do it and it didn’t consume too much energy. I painted on large canvases with acrylics which dry quickly and are great fun to paint with. I started to sell my art online and the results blew me away. I have sent artwork to art buyers all over the world, brisbane, Paris, Vancouver, several paintings to New York and several to California. “Pop Art” , should reflect current culture, it has mass appeal and is exciting. I love what American pop artists did in the 60′s. You don’t have to look too far today to come across a Warhol or Lichtenstein. I think these guys put the art snobs in thetr place, I like that!
I wanted to paint a “Deborah Harry” but it had to be right. Blondie were last in Glasgow in June this year and I was too ill to go. The last time I saw them was on the “Curse Of Blondie (Phasm 8 ) tour and it was an awesome gig. I wanted to capture not just Debbie’s beauty, but that “wow factor” that she has when performing live. I love it when she smiles. When I saw the band at the “No Exit” gig in 1999 at the Glasgow Barrowlands, the crowd were going wild. It was electric – a sellout – peopel were fainting and it was just like being back in 1979. You could tell the band were enjoying the atmosphere, and Debbie couldn’t help smiling. Her face is amazing when she smiles. Although not a smiling pose, my painting needed to have the impact that you get when you see Debbie Harry live. My painting was based on a video capture, but I wanted the colours to be really effective. I describe them as “ice cream colours”. They are soft yellow, with chocolates, and cherry red lips to finish it off. There have been many images of Debbie over the years. One of my favourites is the cover of Platinum Blonde, the biography by Cathy Che.
The painting has created a lot of interest and now I have the web site www.joehendry.com online so peopel can find me. The problem I have is keeping up. Although I will repeat the image in a limited amount, I won’t become a machine just churning out the same image over and over.
Written and published in December 2004.
You cna view all Joe Hendry Blondie/ Debbie Harry Paintings Here.
