I sacrificed a few years dealing with some serious health issues, and then caring for an elderly parent. When I finally tried to go back to work in the studio, I found that I wasn’t able to focus enough to continue what I had started with the last group of paintings.

I eventually got rid of the large space I had been in for 20 years, and moved the essentials to my home studio.

A friend owned a high end music store, where collectors and pros went for their electric and acoustic guitars, electric bases, and amplifiers. They had a special focus on basses. It was not a “walk in store”.

My friend, Chris, saw my frustration with the inability to continue with large works and came up with a proposition. He said “what if you continue work on a smaller scale and even a different substance?“

What he had dreamed up was a collaboration between Jimmy, the builder of Alleva/Coppola guitars, and myself. I indicated I would consider it, and then, after seeing my work, Jimmy was all in. I decided just five would be about all I could handle and I was right, not only was the whole process difficult, it took a few years, between Jimmy hand carving the bodies and the time involved in learning how to control brushes on an undulating surface.

First I had to come up with some designs, and then I had really needed to do a prototype, to make sure all the various layers of paint would be stable. In Alderwood-based body was used as a “canvas“ for this step in the process. The wood was sent to a guitar painter for the primer coat. I tried water-based paint, and it slid off. It was such a smooth and hard surface. So I lightly sanded the primer, just enough to spray several coats of gesso on it so that had a bit of “tooth“ and was slightly absorbent.

So, I made a prototype which we had gloss coated, and it turned out great.

I started working on better designs. I made dozens, and with the help of Jimmy and Chris, we picked the five. I had made it clear that I wanted to paint them all together so it took a while to get Jimmy to select the correct body wood for the multiple layers of paint. He finally chose Okoume  for the sonic qualities qualities this would offers. I under painted all five before starting the final painting with oil paint.

Number 1 was claimed by a local bass player and collector when he heard about the project. A Japanese retailer from Tokyo was introduced to the project, when he came to see what Chris had, when he was in California for NAMM. He saw Number Two, which had just been finished and was blown away. He bought it on the spot. About a week later he contacted Chris and committed to the rest of the Edition, sight unseen.

I have to admit that by Number Five I was worn out. It was a difficult project, but seeing people react so positively made it worth it.

At a certain point, I said to the guys, let’s build out the Prototype, so we can see what they are really going to look like.

Being a “Parts Bass” we could just buy the components, and the guys in the shop put it together. It turned out nice itself.

In fact, someone ended up buying the Prototype as well!