Lot Essay
Pattie Boyd: John was at our house, Kinfauns. He started the drawing and George and I added to it. I remember feeling embarrassed after drawing the octopus because I felt I had ruined John's drawing. I believe George drew the peacock. We were in the big sitting room with the two big round windows and a copy of the Salvador Dali fireplace. Our Siamese cat Joss Stick can be seen in the drawing. I kept the picture and later framed it when we moved to Friar Park.
Evidently not required while Lennon was focusing on the proximate details of the drawing, one can spot his trademark wire-rimmed glasses laid on the seat of the armchair, as well as his subtle reflection in the mirror on the wall. The underwater scene sketched at the top of the page may have been inspired by the Ringo Starr composition Octopus's Garden, which he wrote in Sardinia in 1968. George and Ringo first worked on the song during the Beatles' Get Back sessions in January 1969, after which it was eventually recorded by the band for inclusion on Abbey Road between April and July 1969.
Evidently not required while Lennon was focusing on the proximate details of the drawing, one can spot his trademark wire-rimmed glasses laid on the seat of the armchair, as well as his subtle reflection in the mirror on the wall. The underwater scene sketched at the top of the page may have been inspired by the Ringo Starr composition Octopus's Garden, which he wrote in Sardinia in 1968. George and Ringo first worked on the song during the Beatles' Get Back sessions in January 1969, after which it was eventually recorded by the band for inclusion on Abbey Road between April and July 1969.