maynard james Keenan

No. 79 Maynard James Keenan

The client assignment went something like… mostly neutral colors, listen to the song Invincible, my husband is a super fan and goes to 4-5 concerts per tour, I’m picking you to paint this because the you layer your art with meaningful imagery in the same way Tool layers their music. I felt no pressure at all. (Total sarcasm)

I knew this commission would be a bit more challenging simply because I’m not typically dawn to neutral color pallets and I hadn’t listened to Tool since high school. When it comes to tackling commissions that scare me a little, I have learned the best way to approach them is to jump right in and dive deep. I started listening to ALL of his music from all of his bands, reading all of the articles, and listening to podcast. Needless to say, I was quickly overwhelmed with the amount of information. I went back to my notes from my initial client interview and decided to narrow in on one of the clients favorite songs, Invincible. With my headphones on, I turned this song on repeat and then laid on the floor of my studio soaking it in. I listened to it as I prepped backgrounds for other pieces, as I mocked up images of Maynard. I listened to it as I caught up on e-mails and social media. I listened to it as I cleaned my studio. This song and I became one.

As the song really started to sink in, I tuned back into my days as a piano major and used those analytical musical brain cells. I paid attention to how there were competing rhythms in the opening of the song. How throughout the entire song they not only switch up the time signature multiple times, but the also the tempo. Resulting in  the musicality taking you on an emotional journey. You literally feel the desperation of a man aging trying to cling onto relativity in the world. The life transition of appreciating your maturity, but not wanting to be irrelevant. It’s a literal battle that many have internally battled with and the music perfectly portrays this push and pull.

So, with all of these thoughts and themes in my head, I began painting.

Jump down below to further read the symbolism of the background...

XXXX

Maynard has been and will always been an individual. He literally has the ‘x’ factor. Thus, this is a representation of being your own person. Also, as someone who does not prescribe to religion, this could also be considered someone thinking for themselves against the masses.

OOO

The red circles have multiple significances. The target circle has been used several times in Tool’s stage shows and album art. Not only are they a nod to the band’s brand, but they also have an appearance of shields. Considering the theme of the song, Invincible, the lyrics illicit imagery of a warrior and what is a warrior without their shield. Additionally, at the one minute mark of the song (it’s a long song) you start to hear a clicking song layered over the rhythmic guitar. To me it sounded like the ticking of a clock counting down to your time being up, so I included lines at different angles to represent the ticking of different clocks.

10,000

A nod to Tool’s 2006 album titled, ’10,000.’

Lyrics

Lyrics included are layered in three parts and come from the songs Schism and Invincible.