jeudi 28 décembre 2017

Paper Kinfauns by Dirk Stevesyns

Hi everyone, and best wishes for the year to come.

I have receieved, directly from its author, the map of a paper Kinfauns, no less.
I did receive yesterday LQ scans of his creation (the whole set is made of six A3 sheets) and tweeked them a bit for Blender. This represents Kinfauns in late 1967, before the south wall received it's black and white mural. Thanks Dirk Stevesyns for your work
Here are below two renders. Enjoy !


You can also view its Sketchfab version here
Here

mercredi 13 décembre 2017

News from week 50

Not much to tell actually, but still progressing though. I'm really going back to basics, discovering new things every day. I believe I have found out how to finish the northern part that has differents roof slopes.
On the right is the music room with the bay windows. Below those windows is the "Mick and marianne were here" graffiti, painted as the Harrison were missing


Work has started on the entrance door. Still missing the "Please go away" sticker though


Also work has started to enhance the southwall. Sadly the left part is too blury, sadly


also Modeling, modeling and modeling. Thanks Sylvan for the first picture, that was used as a model for the second one below


With wall painting




dimanche 10 décembre 2017

1967 - Henry Grossman session

Here are the photographs I have found so far, taken on feb 25th 1967

  • Please note that all of them are commonly available from pinterest, instagram and for instance Pattie Boyd yahoogroups. No high scans are sent here without the photograph /estate approuval.
  • It could be that the Mark 1 session was completly shot in colours.
  • Could anyone owning "Place I remember" from this great photographer contact me. My point is I wish to know if I miss some picture of the feast that could help me with my modelling. Please note that I don't need the highest definition, and watermarks don't bother as well. As said before, I don't want to upload high resolution pictures.
Mark 1 : Just before the Beatles photo session, Henry visits the Harrisons and shoots them while they repair the "Mushroom lamp" in the kitchen, a room later seen in the John Haynes 1969 session. Also he attends a sitar demonstration in the music room. The year before, the photograph was instrumental in deciding George Harrison to begin sitar lessons.










Mark 2. Later on, after the Beatles photo session at Ringo'sSunny Heights, Henry Grossman is among the guests at George's 24th birthday.

First, two shots of the Harrisons in the hall, that same room their wedding pictures were made in Jan 66. In between, Donovan's Mellow Yellow cover was also done in this very room.


David Crobsy and Belinda Watson in the bungalow kitchen. I've read that Belinda (Pattie Boyd's friend) was much photographed that evening, but I have only found two photos so far. Belinda is the mother of Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot, who was "Curiosity Killed the Cat" singer in the 80's.

Pattie with model Marie-Lise Grès (real name Volpelière-Pierrot). Marie-Lise's brother Jean-Claude was Belinda's husband.Pattie and Marie Lise found a newspaper ad about Transcendental Meditation and attended their first meeting together that same month - and later in the summer George and the other Beatles became involved too. 

Henry Grossman recalls: [After returning to Kinfauns following the Sunny Heights shoot] George changed into a kurta, a form of traditional Indian garb, that would soon become part of late 1960s hippie culture. I was momentarily shocked when Pattie emerged from the bedroom with short hair. I had photographed her long blonde locks only hours earlier. As it turned out, she was only wearing a wig. George liked long hair and did not want her to cut hers, so she occasionally donned the wig for a change of pace. Eventually, the party guests began arriving, each of them removing their shoes at the door. They were all friends of George and Pattie, and they brought with them dishes of food which were spread out on the table in the kitchen. I photographed most of the guests, simply because I found them fascinating. I was intrigued by who they were and how they came to be there that night. David Crosby was one of them. 
Notice above, on the right side, the circular fireplace, later to be painted  with psychedelic colours by the Fool.
George and David Crosby

Notice a Nagra III recorder on the floor, and a Brenell Mk5 in the background. In the upper left corner, in dark sunglasses sits Roger McGuinn.

Sarod player Ali Akbar Khan with Mahapurush Misra (tabla) and Amiya Dasgupta (sitar). On the far left is the Byrds Roger McGuinn. In the round window reflection, the fireplace is noticeable.

Low quality photograph, sorry !
Low quality photograph again, sorry !

A psychedelic fireplace

The psychedelic fireplace is an emblematic figure of the bungalow


It has the following story :

In late 1965, early 1966, the former garage is appended to the whole building. This new room, usually known as the "Music room" is usually recognized from the ouside by its bay windows (below which the graffitti "Mick and Marianne were here" will be painted) and his two round windows on the north wall. Opposite those circular openings was built a new fireplace, previously opposite the wall, in the center of a brick circle. This fireplace is already built the day Henry Grossman was invited to George Harrison birthday on feb 1967.

In mid 1967, with Pattie Harrison fashion connections, dutch painter The Fool were invited to paint the fireplace in psychedelic colours.

During september, George assigned Simon and myself to paint the mural around the fireplace in his living room at Kinfauns. The mural portraits George and Pattie as "music boy" and "flower girl" as they lovingly called each other then, attended by a yogi, surrounded by radiating lights spectrums. We stayed at their place for about a week to complete it (1)
The George Harrison mural at Kinfauns was painted by myself and Simon, without the help of the other members of the Fool. George and Patti gave us free hand and I designed the lay-out in situ. (2)

Happy with the result, with Simon Porthuma technical advice, George Harrison begins the painting of the ouside wall.
Inspired, George was decorating the exterior, and Simon gave him a painting lesson (1)

The psychedelic fireplace and the outdoor painting sessions was photographed for instance by the late Robert Whitaker whose photographs are for instance available in "Living in the material world" book and made the cover of Pattie Boyd's autobiography "Wonderfull tonight".

Partial front view from Bootlegzone.com


Sources :
1 The Summer of love / Marijke Koger Dunham /Youtube : Video available here
2 Marijke Koger Dunham. Additionnal info sent to the author.

News from week 49

Here are some progress that were made this week


  1. I should receive in a couple of days at least one aerial view of Kinfauns, made in late 65 early 66. This was done as the former garage is appended to the existing building. The new garage is already here, but no trace of the goldfish bond or the greenhouse yet. Those pictures were done by a german photographer whose work was published by the Bravo Magazine in jan 1966
  2. A new photograph of George Harrison birthday with sitar players. If anyone has upgrades, those are welcome.
  3. a new photgraph by Robert Whitaker of the outdoor painting session. like previously, very average shot, sadly.
  4. I've been informed that many pictures of Kinfauns were used the for "Apple years 1968-74" boxset. That includes for instance a partial view of the south wall. I should get scans soooner or later.
  5. Work has begun on the garage. I have seen many shapes, or project of this garage, but I will stick to the 1969 model, the one seen on the John Haynes photo session, also present the day of the drug raid by the infamous Norman Pilcher. Of course lot to do on the side and on the roof.
  6. At last, I have found pictures of the back of the house, which includes the door leading from the kitchen to the outside. They were shot on July 12th 1967 by Leslie SAMUELS HEALY and Donna STARK who also interviewed George, later released as "The Little Girl Tape".

3D Modelling of Kinfauns March 2019

I took some time this weekend  to upgrade the 3D model Some painting have been added on the walls but that's partial . Among other, L...