Rare Jimi Hendrix artwork surfaces on Valleys Of Neptune

When Jimi Hendrix's Valleys Of Neptune CD is released on 9 March, the cover will feature watercolor artwork that the late guitarist painted in 1957.

"Before he became a musician, Jimi wanted to be an artist," said Jimi's sister and Experience Hendrix CEO Janie Hendrix of Valleys's album and single art. "He went through a phase doing watercolors at school and this was one of the 110 drawings of his that our father kept.

"When I saw this one he did in 1957, it screamed Valleys Of Neptune to me, so we knew we'd use it for this project."

The CD cover art (shown above) blends Hendrix's painting with a photo taken by Linda Eastman - or Linda McCartney as she was later known.

Compare this to the single of the track Valleys Of Neptune (below), due out 2 February, which features Hendrix's original, untitled watercolor.

The appearance of the Valleys Of Neptune artwork caused keen-eyed Jimi Hendrix fans to notice that it bore a resemblance to another watercolor (below) painted by the guitarist, and this one has a title: Seattle Waterfront. The budding artist who would later become one of the world's greatest guitarists created it while in high school.

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