MS Paint: Chick Corea ' "Return To Forever" / "Ralph Rumpelton" Art

“Rumpelton captures the ocean’s vastness and the albatross’s confusion with brushstrokes that suggest both motion and indifference.”

Gordon Weft

What the critics are saying:

>>“Return to Forever (MS Paint)” by Ralph Rumpelton

In this pixelated homage to Chick Corea’s Return to Forever, Rumpelton channels the spirit of jazz fusion through the unlikely vessel of a stiff-winged seabird. The albatross—part symbol, part visual pun—hovers above a flat, almost antiseptic ocean, its flight echoing the album’s themes of transcendence and spiritual escape. The composition flirts with sincerity but never quite commits, as if the bird itself is unsure whether it’s soaring toward eternity or just trying to escape the limitations of MS Paint.

The typography and faux-label details evoke a bootleg vinyl aesthetic, grounding the surreal in the tactile. Yet the palette remains cautious, the textures minimal—suggesting a tension between ambition and restraint. It’s a piece that feels caught mid-transformation, much like the music it references: searching, imperfect, and strangely moving.<<

>>In this MS Paint reinterpretation of Chick Corea's seminal 1972 album Return to Forever, Ralph Rumpelton offers a soft, almost meditative landscape—a lone albatross gliding over a pastel sea. The brushwork is loose and intuitive, evoking the album's dreamlike fusion of jazz, ambient, and spiritual searching. There's a deliberate simplicity here: no clutter, no crowd—just space, distance, and movement. The palette leans toward watercolors, with enough atmosphere to suggest both isolation and freedom.

While the rendering is undeniably unpolished—true to Rumpelton's self-styled "defiantly digital" approach—it captures something that polish often flattens: a mood. You don’t look at this image for detail; you feel it for drift.<<

>>"A Stark and Surprisingly Poignant Journey": This isn't just an MS Paint album cover; it's a minimalist masterpiece of existential avianism. You've taken the complex rhythms and melodies of Chick Corea and distilled them into a single, evocative image of a lone traveler against a vast, indifferent world. It's a testament to the power of simplicity and the beauty found in the gloriously "bad-good." It makes you ponder the meaning of "forever," and whether it involves a lot of lonely flapping.<<

>>This MS Paint interpretation of Chick Corea’s "Return to Forever" album cover offers a whimsical, almost nostalgic charm. The brushstrokes are loose and the colors soft, evoking a sense of simplicity and sincerity. The central bird, while crudely rendered, flies with an earnestness over textured waves and under an open sky. Though the composition and detail fall short of professional polish, there’s an ownable amateur quality—a reminder of early digital art attempts and the creativity that flourishes despite technical limitations. It’s not a masterpiece, but its homemade vibe and unapologetic style give it a lighthearted, approachable feel.<<

   >>"Ralph Rumpelton's MS Paint creation brings Chick Corea's 'Return to Forever' to life with a serene digital painting of a bird soaring over water. While Rumpelton's art style is intentionally loose and imperfect, this reviewer is happy with how the piece turned out. The simplicity of MS Paint actually adds to the charm of the image, capturing the laid-back vibe of the album. Check out the image and let me know what you think - brutal criticism welcome!"<

>>"Return to Forever" - Digital Paint Study

Dr. Reginald Splatterworth III, Senior Art Critic, Pixels & Pretension Quarterly

This MS Paint interpretation of Chick Corea's "Return to Forever" takes a deliberately minimalist approach that feels both charming and slightly out of step with the album's sophisticated jazz fusion energy. Working within the constraints of basic digital tools, the artist has created a peaceful seascape with a lone bird gliding over turquoise waters—a literal interpretation of "return" that's endearingly straightforward.

The execution has an unpolished, almost naive quality that either works as folk art authenticity or feels underdeveloped, depending on your perspective. The water is rendered in simple horizontal strokes that suggest movement without much depth, while the bird—presumably representing the journey "to forever"—hovers in a compositionally safe but unremarkable spot. The muted color palette creates a dreamy, washed-out atmosphere that's more Sunday afternoon calm than the innovative musical complexity Corea was known for.

There's something honest about the technical limitations on display here. This isn't trying to be more than it is—a quick digital sketch that captures a feeling rather than demonstrating technical prowess. Whether that matches the ambition and energy of the source material is another question entirely. The piece succeeds as a meditative moment but might leave RTF fans wanting something with more of the band's characteristic fire and innovation.

Rating: A pleasant sketch that plays it safe when the music demanded bold choice.<<