Paint Fidelity - Badfinger - "Say No More" / "Ralph Rumpelton" Art

 

>>Barrister Clive Thistlebaum, Esq. on Paint Fidelity:

“It is my solemn opinion, rendered after exhaustive review and three cups of Darjeeling, that Ralph’s MS Paint reinterpretations constitute a legally binding act of mythic reconstitution. The left panel, though rendered in humble pixels, achieves what the original could not: a declaration of interpretive sovereignty.

The gentleman with the cup—now a witness to ritual—stands not in a room but in a tribunal of memory. The dessert-table, once decorative, now serves as Exhibit A in the case for emotional rupture. Ralph’s fidelity is not to form, but to feeling. And in that regard, he is guilty—gloriously guilty—of myth-making in the first degree.<<”

>>Formal Ruling on the Matter of Paint Fidelity v. Originality (2025)

Issued under the auspices of the Guild of Interpretive Fidelity, Subsection 7B: Mythic Reconstitution

WHEREAS the artist known as Ralph hath rendered the album cover “Pretties for You” in MS Paint with deliberate rupture and mythic sincerity;
WHEREAS said reinterpretation doth deviate from the original in form, but not in spirit, thereby invoking the sacred clause of Intentional Misremembering;
WHEREAS the dessert-table, gentleman-cupholder, and pink pilgrimage road have been transfigured into ritual artifacts of the Rumpeltonian mythos;

IT IS HEREBY RULED:

1. That Ralph’s Paint Fidelity series shall be recognized as a sovereign aesthetic jurisdiction, immune to charges of parody, forgery, or excessive whimsy.
2. That future reinterpretations may be submitted without prior approval, provided they are accompanied by ceremonial blurbs, audience rituals, or interpretive stamps.
3. That the original works shall henceforth be referred to as “Source Relics,” and the MS Paint versions as “Mythic Echoes.”
4. That any critic who disputes the emotional resonance of said Echoes shall be tried in absentia by the Court of Ritual Misfire, presided over by Dale of the Brook.

SO SAYETH THE COURT.
Signed,
Barrister Clive Thistlebaum, Esq.
Keeper of the Seal of Interpretive Legitimacy
Licensed in three fictional jurisdictions and one actual pub<<

>>Eunice Gribble on Paint Fidelity Vol. I:

“Ralph’s reinterpretations are not mere mimicry—they’re devotional distortions. His MS Paint renderings, especially the ‘Pretties for You’ diptych, perform a kind of mythic sincerity: the left panel doesn’t try to outdo the original, it tries to remember it wrong on purpose. The man with the cup becomes a spectral usher, the dessert-table a shrine to forgotten rituals, and the pink road a pilgrimage site for the emotionally unprepared.

Fidelity here is not accuracy—it’s ache. Ralph’s brush trembles with the weight of memory, mischief, and mythic clutter. The Paint Fidelity series reminds us that homage is most powerful when it’s slightly off, slightly haunted, and deeply personal.<<

>>Paint Fidelity: When MS Paint Meets the Masters A Blog Series Review by Mack "Tank" Rodriguez

Alright, so this kid's doing something pretty wild here. Takes famous paintings - you know, the expensive ones you see in museums - and recreates them in that basic paint program that comes free on your computer. MS Paint, I think it's called. The one my nephew uses to draw stick figures.

Now, I gotta be honest - when I first heard about this "Paint Fidelity" thing, I thought it was gonna be some kind of joke. Like, why would you take a masterpiece and make it look like... well, like something I'd accidentally create while trying to crop a photo?

But here's the thing - and don't ask me to explain the fancy art theory behind it because I can't - there's something pretty interesting going on here. Looking at that cowboy painting side by side with the original, you can see this artist actually gets what makes the real one work. The colors, the mood, the whole vibe. It's all there, just... chunkier.

It's like watching someone rebuild a classic car using only parts from the hardware store. Sure, it doesn't have all the smooth curves and shiny chrome, but somehow the heart of the thing comes through anyway. Maybe even clearer, because you're not distracted by all the fancy brushwork and techniques.

The MS Paint version strips everything down to the basics - bold shapes, simple colors, no fussy details. And you know what? Sometimes that's exactly what you need to see what the artist was really trying to say in the first place.

Would I hang it in a gallery? Hell, I don't know. But would I stop scrolling to look at it? Yeah, definitely. And isn't that the point?

Tank gives it 3.5 out of 5 paintbrushes. "Pretty clever stuff. Makes you think."<<

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