The story of the delta blues as it leaves Mississippi and goes up the river into Chicago. Taking a fragment of a song lyric from a Robert Johnson classic and telling my own story out of context.
When the train left the station
it had two lights on behind
The blue light was my baby
and the red light was my mind
-Robert Johnson
This painting is a triptych. Each panel is 36" x 60" tall. The hanging measurement of this piece if 108-112 inches wide, depending on how far apart the panels are hung.
Item details
GTIN: 169540
Price
$11,700.00
Sales method
Online & onsite sale
Quantity available
1
Dimensions
Product
Length/Depth: 2 in
Width: 108 in
Height: 60 in
Package
Length/Depth: 8 in
Width: 40 in
Height: 66 in
Shipping
$350.00
Option to pick up the product in person instead of shipping
Delivery and pickup restrictions may apply: Please allow up to two weeks for shipping as this piece is currently hanging at Jackson Junge Gallery in Chicago.
Refund & return policy
No refund or returns allowed on this purchase.
Exceptions may apply. Please message William for more information.
Since 2002, Will Armstrong has spent ten to twenty weekends per year on the road; bouncing between gallery openings, festivals and his studio. He has steadily racked up over half a million miles on his vertebrae and on a rotating cast of trusted (though admittedly abused) vehicles through those years.
The road holds countless stories and in his work, you will find them.
Tales of out of the way honky-tonks, movie palaces, cheap motels and barrels of gas paid on questionable credit; stories of both roadside dives or majestic theaters and the musicians that crawl in and out. The real show sometimes taking place on the street. Where does music come from? Where does it go to be heard? Sometimes the artist takes a fragment of a lyric out of context and tells a new story to change or re-emphasize the meaning.
Will’s work is the soundtrack to a road trip; songs and artists are embedded on the towns they made famous. Bo Diddley, Johnny Cash and Deke Dickerson are as much as an influence as Frank Miller and Heinrich Kley. The lines of the road have become indistinguishable from the lines of the pen; just as the subject from location.
Will considers his work to be drawing, as each line is created by hand using a series of pens, and Chinese lettering quills. He works on a collage of vintage maps, show posters and sheet music. Every piece of ephemera incorporated into the work is part of the story telling process. Graphite, ink and acrylic might be used to finish the piece, ensuring that the artist's hands will never be clean.