Janis 001

Look closer for the song lyric: Freedom’s just another word for
nothin’ left to lose (Me and Bobby McGee)

The story:

Janis Lyn Joplin

Janis was born on January 19, 1943 in Port Arthur, Texas. She lived until October 4, 1970.

Joplin was an American singer-songwriter who first rose to fame in the late 1960s as the lead singer of the psychedelic/acid rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company, and later as a solo artist with her own backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band.

Her first ever large scale public performance was at the Monterey Pop Festival June 16th – 18th 1967; this led her to becoming very popular and one of the major attractions at the Woodstock festival and the Festival Express train tour. Joplin charted five singles; other popular songs include: “Down on Me,” “Summertime,” “Piece of My Heart,” “Ball ‘n’ Chain,” “Maybe,” “To Love Somebody,” “Kozmic Blues,” “Work Me, Lord,” “Cry Baby,” “Mercedes Benz,” and her only number one hit, “Me and Bobby McGee.”

Joplin was well known for her performing ability and was a multi instrumentalist. Her fans referred to her stage presence as “electric;” at the height of her career, she was known as “The Queen of Psychedelic Soul.” Known as “Pearl” among her friends, she was also a painter, dancer and music arranger. Rolling Stone ranked Joplin number 46 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004 and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Joplin remains one of the top-selling musicians in the United States, with Recording Industry Association of America certifications of 15.5 million albums sold in the USA.

– credit Wikipedia

That voice – high, husky, earthy, explosive – remains among the most distinctive and galvanizing in pop history. But Janis Joplin didn’t merely possess a great instrument; she threw herself into every syllable, testifying from the very core of her being.

She claimed the blues, soul, gospel, country and rock with unquestionable authority and verve, fearlessly inhabiting psychedelic guitar jams, back-porch roots and everything in between. Her volcanic performances left audiences stunned and speechless, while her sexual magnetism, world-wise demeanor and flamboyant style shattered every stereotype about female artists – and essentially invented the “rock mama” paradigm.

– credit janisjoplin.com

The artwork:

Each illustration is tied to a non-profit fund raiser. The first print of this Janis Joplin illustration was sold in a silent auction at “Starry Nights,” a benefit for less fortunate kids to have a chance to go to the Episcopal Diocese of Texas’ Camp Allen, summer church camp.

Digital Print on Archival Matte – Original illustration done in graphite and the following Prisma Colors: Orange, Peacock Blue, and Yellow Ochre to match a screen print of Amy Winehouse, but also to match the “flower power” era from which Janis’ soulful lyric style came.
Artist: Tobin Bortner of Bastrop, Texas – drawing done in May of 2015 – ©Tobin Signs/Look Closer Illustrations
DERIVATIVE Work – photo credit:seventies.music.wordpress.com; vintagerocknews.blogspot.com; Coy ’08 seventies; and janisjoplin.com

What you get:
$40 (36.95 + 3.05 tax)
11 x 14 Print Package with Authenticity Sheet
signed and numbered (run of 500)
Domestic Priority Mail $8 (Free shipping)