Big Daddy And Giant Haystacks

Back in the 1970s we had this “thing” called professional wrestling. It was a pantomime-esquire acting performance dressed up like a sporting event. These are two of the biggest stars. On the left is Shirley Crabtree aka Big Daddy, a blue-eye, meaning he was the hero in the pantomime, always coming back from adversity to win his wrestling bouts. And on the right is Martin Ruane aka Giant Haystacks, a heel, the pantomime villain who would cheat and rogue with the grannies in the audience and eventually get beaten and send everyone home happy. Somehow this stuff appeared on World Of Sport every Saturday afternoon, filling up the hour in the schedule leading up to the football results, which is why I got to see so much of it.

This is a posterised painting using the desert colours, following my usual process. I went for the desert colours as I wanted something looking faded and dated, reflecting how these guys achieved fame in a very different world to today’s. I added salt to all three layers just before they dried, getting the timing bang on today.

In the final painting, Martin is bang on and I like the side-eye he’s giving Shirley, a look that’s not there in the source photo. And his sheer bulk, including that shaggy fur gown. We won’t mention his right hand and, to be honest, it’s not something the eye is ever drawn to. Shirley’s not quite right though. I did a little tinkering on his face after removing the making fluid but still couldn’t get there.

I still think this one’s good enough to go up for sale though, and the price is here. It’s a painting that tells a story.