Jorma Kaukonen has appeared on this illustroblog multiple times to one degree or another as you can see here. He’s legendary, not only around here in Athens, OH where he lives, but pretty much everywhere else. We’re lucky, we get to see Jorma and John Hurlbut playing around Athens pretty regularly, and what a treat it is! Getting to see Jorma and Jack Casady reunite as Hot Tuna, that doesn’t happen so frequently. Check out this clip of them in 1969. So, Annyth and I, thanks to some good friends who jumped on 3rd-row, Stuart’s-Opera-House tickets for all of us back in February, got to see Jorma and Jack doing what they do best; and they did that and more along with special guest, harmonicist extraordinaire, Ross Garren! I wish I had four ears instead of only two!

When my ears weren’t completely blown away by the music, my eyes would wander off and dwell on Jack’s expressive face. If I had brought a 25 lb. block of clay with me, I would have sculpted it right then and there!

That was Friday, July 17, 2026. The very next day I sat down with Jack, well, a photo I took of him, and spent some time with him and a few of his features.

Jack, rounded up to the nearest 100

Technical: I painted Jack’s “portrait” on my iPad Pro using an Apple Pencil and these apps: Sketch Club, Procreate, and iColorama. It’s pretty orange, isn’t it? Here’s the reference photo I took and used. Because of the lighting, things got pretty orange.

Reference photo… 🍊

Nevertheless, lot of fun!