Mal commission
- December 16, 2020
- Nigel Follett
It’s surprising how small the world can be sometimes, and occasionally it brings you into touch with the most unexpected people. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that late in 2020 I’d be painting the late Malcolm Young, the legendary songwriter and guitarist of AC/DC.
The family member who commissioned the painting initially approached me to paint a logo for a one-off tee shirt – with no affiliation to AC/DC, but purely about Malcolm, whilst giving a nod to his incredible legacy. In fact, so huge is his band’s popularity, that their new album ‘Power Up’ was No.1 in 18 countries – that’s some heritage.
Share Post
The artwork was painted from a very low-resolution photo of Malcolm and the image is therefore unique, showing him off stage, trying out a new guitar.
Having delivered it, the client asked if we could use the artwork to also produce a large image on acrylic, to be used as a permanent feature image, centre stage of the renowned charity Livewire Youth Music in Saltash, Cornwall. Their world-class performance stage was to be named after Malcolm on the occasion of his Birthday on Jan 6th 2021 – Malcolm was a patron of the charity for many years, and Brian Johnson still is.
And so that’s what we did!
Keep reading!
Most recent posts
The painting of Ragnar’s Epitaph
Painted back in 2014, Ragnar’s Epitaph brought together a scene near my childhood home (which forever captivated me), and the best preserved example of a Viking long-ship ever unearthed.
Consumerism painting at ChinaFit Festival
Despite the recent negative image of China, brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a burgeoning animal rights and vegan movement there. Read how the ChinaFit Festival in Beijing reached out to 30m people.
The making of Lagertha – Shield Maiden
I thought I’d talk a little about the central figure in this painting, mainly because it took 120 hours to paint her and a mere 8 for the rest of the artwork. ‘Digital’ doesn’t mean ‘shortcuts’!
Mal commission
It’s surprising how small the world can be sometimes, and occasionally it brings you into touch with the most unexpected people. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that late in 2020 I’d be painting the late Malcolm Young, the legendary songwriter and guitarist of AC/DC.
Ragnar’s Epitaph selected for book cover
Ragnar’s Epitaph is without a doubt, my most commercially successful painting, so it was mind-blowing to be asked if it could be used on the cover of a book, co-authored by Prof. Paul Hardwick.
Out of Hand a winning entry for national contest
If you’re brave enough, particularly when you’re starting out as an unknown artist in a hugely competitive field, you might want to brave the savage world of international art contests, because it’s a quick way to get noticed.