“Blue Man”

“Blue Man” has been around for quite a while and has many fans. He’s lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Evansville, Indiana; Paris, France; Denver, Colorado; and now he’s in New York City. While in Evansville, a young college professor was so passionate about buying him that he was willing to re-adjust his monthly budget to afford him.

Blue Man sold just recently to two of those long-time fans.

I began painting Blue Man in Buenos Aires. I listened to great blues music in the process. The Argentine kids at the time were really into blues and blues-based rock n’ roll as opposed to hip hop and Top 40 pop music. There were actually a lot of old Ford Falcons with “Rolling Stones” decals in the rear windshields. These were not old farts driving these cars – these were kids 25 and under. There were many American blues musicians on tour in Argentina and I was surprised to see that B.B. King did two shows per night for a week. Argentina was not only listening to American blues music – they were forming their own great blues bands and singing the blues in Spanish!

Blue Man came out of my head. I enjoyed creating him. Paint ran and dripped and he evolved through several periods. I painted him with a limited palette and although he is of acrylic on canvas, he’s essentially a big watercolor.

I set him aside to complete him later. I thought about all kinds of ways to finish him but more and more I was taken by his initial, haunting, ethereal attitude. I did a few minor things to him and declared him created.

Blue Man’s favorite place was the foyer in our apartment in Paris where he hung out.

Blue Man, I’m gonna miss you, my friend….

“Blue Man”,
by Robert Leedy, 2001,
acrylic on canvas,
48 x 36 in.,
Collection of Mr. & Mrs. William D. Thomas, New York, New York