As I grow older and time becomes more precious, as an artist I live in the moment and on occasions act on impulse. I always need a muse or something to inspire me and sometimes this happens immediately and at others long after an event. In an earlier blog I mentioned our trip to see and hear Camille O’ Sullivan at Wilton’s Music Hall during November last year. At the end of her concert featuring the songs of Jacques Brel, Camille paid tribute to David Bowie and Leonard Cohen who died in 2016, and in this she sang Anthem by Cohen which was profoundly moving and I simply can’t get it out of my head. Although I worked with and for songwriters for most of my career I had, for some reason, never had Leonard Cohen high on my list of great singer/songwriters. All that has now changed and, for the last few weeks I’ve become obsessed by him, his creative genius and listened to or watched many of his performances. So, quite by chance, he’s become the centre of my attention and his features have become registered in my mind. I decided not to plunge in and paint a serious portrait but tackle a few sketches as a prelude to a more ambitious work to be completed once I ‘know’ him better. Here are the first three attempts:-
Early 1970’s
The mature Performer “Anthem”
Leonard Cohen 2
For the first time I’ve added a video to a blog to try and illustrate why I have become such a devoted admirer of Cohen’s work. As a performer he had magnetism, charisma and stage presence, as a singer his voice was unique, and as a songwriter the quality, depth of thought and humanity of his lyrics were phenomenal. He had the fullest life in so many ways – several relationships, highs and lows, millions of admirers and was a multi-talented individual with an output of extraordinary songs. Apart from songwriting and singing, Cohen was a skilled musician, novelist, poet and visual artist whose paintings and other visual artworks are represented in the UK by the Richard Goodall Gallery in Manchester (www.richardgoodallgallery.com). I’m unable to reproduce any examples of his art for copyright reasons but I would urge anyone who is interested to have a look at his work which enhances his overall reputation and throws more light on his character and very eventful life. My head currently remains full of songs such as Dance Me to the End of Love, Hallelujah, So Long Marianne, Suzanne and Everybody Knows!! As is the case with Camille O’ Sullivan, I lament the lack of airplay on UK radio and television and hope that the neglect of this great artist will be redressed before long.