Painting Eric Clapton's Fool Guitar - Phase Eight

Welcome back as I continue working on this painted "Fool" replica for my client Bruce Diamond.

Time to paint the yellow stars (46 of them)......

Let me introduce you to Dutch artist Marijke Koger, designer and painter of the original 1967 psychedelic guitar for Eric Clapton.

The yellow stars are very recognizable on the clothes she's wearing, an example of her numerous fashion designs of the 60s.

Marijke is pictured here with her partner Simon Posthuma, also from Holland.  He collaborated with her on painting the famous Clapton art guitar.  They were a creative team who during this time formed the artist collective "The Fool" with Josje Leeger and Barry Finch.

photo featured in the book "Electrical Banana" by Norman Hathaway and Dan Nadel

Here are the two at work painting John Lennon's piano.

George Harrison seated in front of his fireplace mural, also painted by Koger and Posthuma.

 

The couple became part of the fabric of the 1960s British music and fashion scene.  After the artist group "The Fool" was formed, they painted a huge mural on the storefront of the Beatles' short-lived Apple Boutique in London.  They designed the interior of the store with painted murals and were hired to set up shop producing their own unique style of artwork and psychedelic gypsy clothing to be sold there.

photo featured in the book "Electrical Banana" by Norman Hathaway and Dan Nadel

Later moving to Los Angeles, The Fool went on to create the world's largest outdoor mural of the time at the Aquarius Theater for the musical "Hair".

In my attempt to create a replica of this design that Koger and Posthuma painted on Eric Clapton's guitar when he was in the band Cream, I can't help but become increasingly absorbed in the fascinating cultural history of this era.  Revisiting a youthful and radical psychedelic renaissance.