Just when you think there is nothing new under the sun... well, something new breaks upon the horizon. In this case, it is artist Paul Chase's version of the guitar as art. He has taken the phrase literally, by sawing up and embedding guitars into the surface of his painted works as if they were a musical watermark upon the canvas. Pictured at right is "harlequin12" a 48"x36" acrylic/enamel that was done using "harlequin" paint, which changes colors as you view from various positions ranging from blue to reddish-purple.

His commanding 48-inch by 36-inch paintings make use of the guitar's unlimited array of body styles in an art form that he fittingly calls "graphicguitars." Each finished painting, with its embedded guitar, creates a striking 3-D effect that includes an additional artistic irony... it's a work of art that produces sound. (Who knows, this could become the next 'instrument' of choice for art school bands like Radiohead, Blur and Coldplay.)

I asked artist Paul Chase what originally inspired him to embed a guitar within a piece of art. "I had been interested in painting guitars for display. I have a few around, and being a guitarist and an artist I felt the need to do some guitar graphics." Soon, however, Chase found the 'traditional' form too restrictive for his taste. "I have a few very crazy painted guitars, but I was looking for something totally innovative and different...and large. That is when I decided to take an actual guitar and attach it to the painting surface." For this early effort, Chase painted the entire surface and guitar white and then projected a color slide of his paintings over the panel. "It was very dramatic, capturing and different."

 The artist said it has been a challenge painting some of the details over the actual guitars, but that the results have been worth it. "You must see graphicguitars in real life, especially if you are a guitarist, to get the effect." (Pictured at left is the 24"x48" acrylic, "music tiles".)

His first few works incorporated basic junk guitars. But as the results became better and better, so did the quality of the embedded guitars. "It was great fun to buy a new guitar, take it home and slice it with a jig saw, fasten it to the panel, and slop paint over it." Chase says he is open to using any guitar, and hopes to get custom orders from guitarists who have a classic they would like to display in a work of art. Does the willingness to 'destroy' a classic make Paul Chase a heretic? Heck no! The guy is an artist, and in order to do something new you have to destroy the old... or at least re-invent it.

As a guitarist himself, Chase avoids being labeled as an artistic carpetbagger. He originally picked up the instrument because there was a need for a guitarist at his church. "For many years I did the basic chords needed 'prais'n the Lord' and was happy with that. About six or seven years ago I started to get a little more serious about playing, taking in lots of Taylor guitar clinics by Chris Proctor, Pat Kirkley, and Doyle Dykes." His self-schooling techniques also include "a great video of The Everly Brothers that I study often, and Acoustic Guitar Techniques by Phil Keaggy."

 As for his influences, Chase says, "I enjoy watching/listening to the great guitarists of the contemporary Christian music groups, country music and oldies." Chase is working on fingerstyle techniques, but often ends up in a church band setting. "Sometimes I play acoustic-electric 12-string, and other times I lead with acoustic-electric six string." He has even had his own 'brush with greatness' in the church band setting. "There were a few times I played in church with the drummer who recorded with the Zombies the hit song "Time Of The Season"... it could only happen in church!"

Chase practices other forms of art as well. He has illustrated several books for Hill House Publishers, usually doing pen and ink drawings. He has also done album covers, t-shirt graphics, and has had several watercolor painting exhibits (usually landscapes, but he just finished a 22"x30" guitar watercolor with no real guitar in it).