Shel Silverstein’s darkly comedic epic tells of Billy Markham, a reckless gambler and songwriter who loses his soul to the Devil in a rigged dice game, beginning a profane journey through Hell and Heaven. Billy continually outwits Satan through sheer bravado and wit.
"Linebaugh's on a rainy Nashville night", directly captures this struggle. The piece features a single guitar player raised above and surrounded by all the symbols of vice.... all vibrant, contrasting colors of the sins and distractions, and temptations reflect the poem’s duality: its light, humorous language against its dark, philosophical core.
Put on I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" by Muddy Waters...
Listen to this until you realize the "seven hundred dollars" he’s singing about isn’t money, but the exact number of miniature, neon-blue demons currently using your ribcage as a xylophone to practice their upcoming blues-fusion set. It’s the only song powerful enough to convince your own shadow to stop following you and finally pursue its lifelong dream of becoming a high-stakes competitive poker player in a dimension made entirely of felt and regret.
Material: Enamel, acrylic, collage, ink, oil stick on a wood base. 39" x 49"