Claudio at the Beach – A Campy Tribute to Raymond Neher

Claudio at the Beach — original painting by Raymond Neher, beach reimagining by John Corney.

Today I'd like to share a piece with a particular story behind it. The original painting is the work of my late friend Raymond Neher, a San Francisco artist who died in 2004, and whose humour and warmth lived in every brushstroke. When Raymond died, he left me all of his unsold work — a body of paintings I've come to think of as a quiet ongoing trust, to share where I can.

The Painting, and Raymond

Raymond painted this portrait of a former partner of his — a man named Claudio. What I love about it is the gentle joke baked into its composition. The painting is treated entirely seriously: a centred, almost classical portrait, the figure framed by a dark canopy of black umbrella, the gaze level, the bearing dignified. The mirrored aviator sunglasses reflect a blue sky. The straw sun hat with its red band sits squarely on the head. And the figure holds, with quiet ceremony, a bottle labelled "Beach Party Suntan Lotion."

That's the trick of the piece. It's a portrait that takes its subject completely seriously while letting the props do all the smiling. It's camp in the best and most affectionate sense — Raymond clearly enjoyed the man he was painting, and equally clearly knew exactly what he was doing.

After Raymond's death, the original painting eventually made its way to Claudio himself — which felt right; a portrait of a man belongs, in the end, with the man it portrays. What stayed with me was the image, and the affection in it.

Reimagining the Background

The version above is my own small extension of Raymond's work. I've kept Claudio exactly as Raymond painted him — same hat, same shades, same yellow robe patterned with little fish and suns, same suntan lotion held just so — and reimagined the background, replacing the plain pale-blue field with the ocean and clouds the painting always seemed to imply. Claudio, holding suntan lotion and a beach umbrella, was clearly somewhere. I just thought I'd take him there.

I don't know whether Raymond would have made the same choice, but I like to think he'd recognise the spirit of it. Still tongue-in-cheek. Still very Claudio.

Available on Redbubble

This piece is dedicated to Raymond's memory, and to all the artists who infused their work with laughter, love, and light. Prints and products featuring Claudio at the Beach are available at my Redbubble shop.

👉 Claudio at the Beach on Redbubble

You can find all my work at my Redbubble shop, KornKob Art — or search Redbubble for kornkobart (one word).