The Meaning
“Mystery Train” was inspired by a song I heard from a Martin Scorsese film called “The Last Waltz.” Ronnie Hawkins and The Band perform the song quite well in this amazing documentary about their lives on the road for ten years and it inspired me to do the painting you see above. “The Creation of Music” was done right after this one and they are connected both visually and theologically. I perceive music to be both personal and spiritual and I attempted to illustrate that in this piece.
I also explored this theme in other pieces such as, “Creation of the Blues” and “Flophouse Blues” which were done after this one.
Elvis and James Brown and Bob Marley
On the bottom left we see Elvis as an animated ghostly figure. Above him is James Brown and beside him is Bob Marley. Behind James and Elvis are angels looking on as the spirit of music shines on them.
The flames coming from underneath the train symbolize the fire of the Spirit of God, desiring to reach the heart of each human being.
Johnny, Ray, and Jimi
To the right of the train is Johnny Cash with his jacket burning in yellow flames. To the bottom left of him is Ray Charles and below him is Jimi Hendrix. There is an angel looking on behind them and you can also see angels on both sides of the train as you look on further up towards the back of the old black steam train.
The Trinity out of the Cosmos
On the upper left are three flying eyes (representing the Trinity) coming out of a swirling cosmos with the light of God shining through them. One of the musicians in particular, who helped me “see the light of God” through his music, was Johnny Cash.
Freedom and Death
To the upper right, there are two passenger cars lit up. There is a flying heart on the first car, symbolizing the freedom I experience through music. Below the same car, there is a falling skull with red under it, which expresses the many times I had near-death experiences in my past, but now they are eventually falling away from me as I travel on in time.
The Process
When I first started to sketch the old steam train, I had no idea it was going to end up coming from outer space. The clouds of steam coming from underneath the train, blowing out the sides, top, and under the passenger cars were created using black paint, which was then wiped off with mineral spirits and a flat-tipped brush. Then, I continued to build up the clouds of steam again with almost-dry white paint to create a more dimensional effect over the wiped black background.
Underneath and above the passenger cars, I wiped some more of the black paint off and applied red and yellow paints in between the streaks that go vertical down below them and horizontal above.
After the piece was finished, I applied a coat of Galkyd with a larger flat brush to help the contrasting colors “pop” and to protect the colors from fading.