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Artist Karl Haglund Shares Stories Behind Paintings for Billy Bragg, Ryan Adams & STL Musicians

Oct 9, 2014 at 3:28 am

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Courtesy of Fugitive Art

E.J. Fitch's 1986 G&L Broadcaster

E.J. FITCH

In St. Louis, musicians famously lift each other up, standing front and center at each other's concerts and offering their own local RIYL ("Recommended If You Like") suggestions. That's how Haglund ended up painting E.J. Fitch's guitar and incorporating so many great St. Louis musicians into the art exhibit.

Doing Grabau's guitar got me thinking, and he's how I initially found the other musicians [for the show]. I had Chris recommend somebody, so I'd contact them, and then I'd ask them to recommend somebody else. So instead of just painting the musicians or bands that I already knew about, it was each musician recommending the next person. I found one of my favorite bands that I didn't even know existed, which is E.J. Fitch and Soma Jet Set, and I've been listening nonstop. I never would have discovered that band had I not been letting the musicians tell me who they admire. I think it makes the show more legit instead of just from my point of view.

Courtesy of Fugitive Art

Jason Hutto's 1987 Takamine

JASON HUTTO

In his particular type of art, Haglund has learned that guitars are treasured keepsakes that represent a cherished person or nostalgic era. He says that Jason Hutto, who soon will depart the St. Louis music scene after seventeen years, has just such a guitar.

He's got a white Takamine. That's his cherished guitar. His mother bought it for him, and he kind of views it as his only real connection to his past. At first he was a little embarrassed because he didn't really want a white guitar at the time, but he loved his mom, and he's held onto it ever since. It's probably the guitar he thinks about more than any other.

In the video below, Haglund demonstrates the steps that went into painting Fitch's guitar, from building the frame to sketching the instrument to applying modeling paste and paint. Oh, and there's more than one beer step, too.