Rick Estrin Blues Stencil

2009-05-22 20:36:00

A while I created a series of blues stencils that could be printed out, cut up and used with a little spray paint to put Little Walter, Rod Piazza or B.B. King on your favorite pickup truck bed, the sides of buildings, or on the wall of your room.

Rick Estrin gave me a call and asked me if he could use the stencil that I made of him. It was based on a picture that I took at one of his performances and it really came out well. I was happy to oblige. Rick is one the best players out there and one of my personal heroes. He has always taken time to talk to me when he comes to my neck of the woods. He is a great guy.

I made a bunch of other stencil images, including a couple of Little Walter. Imagine my surprise when the Facebook group Harmonica 411 appropriated one of them without so much as a by your leave for their logo.

Here's my stencil:


Here is their logo:


My stencil is modeled on a famous Walter pose, but the 411 logo makes no attempt to hide that they borrowed it from me.

I admit that I based my interpretation on a famous photo so I guess I don't have much of claim to it. At least I reworked the original and did not directly copy it.