Jimi Hendrix - Martin Sharp's painting, 1968

During the first half of 1968 Australian artist Martin Sharp (1942-2013), produced a stunning painting in acrylic of Jimi Hendrix, based on a tracing off of a live concert poster image by Linda Eastman. It bore the title The Electric Circus, and an identical poster entitled Explosion was offered for sale around the same time by the Big O Poster company. Sharp's Explosion is one of the iconic posters of the late Sixties - capturing a moment in time when the excitement and energy of Jimi Hendrix was combined with psychedelic art to produce a truly explosive work. The Martin Sharp paintings and posters of Jimi Hendrix were based on the original photograph taken by Linda Eastman at a concert July 1967. Linda Eastman later became the wife of the Beatles' Paul McCartney, though she continued to pursue the art of photography throughout her life. Eastman's photograph is a classic shot of Hendrix in action, with his signature white fender guitar and pick arm extended as in a full-body chopping motion. Martin Sharp was resident in London at the time. Whilst Eastman's photograph captures the form of Hendrix - the white on black guitar maestro - Sharp's original artwork went beyond that with a frenetic presentation of colour which attempted to replicate the psychedelic experience of a live performance and the multi-layering of Hendrix's unique guitar sound.