Rock Stars That Are Also Artists

In the past month and a half in my exploration of drawing portraits of rock stars, I also stumbled across information on rock stars that are also artists. This peaked my interest even more.  I would like to share with you some of these artists, the portraits I drew of them and some of their artwork. For this blog, I am focusing on Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones and David Bowie.

RonWoodRockstarPortrait

Most everyone has heard of the rock group, the Rolling Stones. Ronnie Wood from this band is also an artist. He showed a talent for panting when he was 3 years old and received his education from the Ealing School of Art in London.  His desire to also create music surfaced at the age of 17. He began his musical career with a British band, the Birds, a rhythm and blues band that was popular in Britain in the mid-1960’s. He then joined the rock group, the Jeff Beck group and then Faces with Rod Stewart.  After participating in several musical projects with the Rolling Stones, he officially became a member of the band in 1976.

Ron Wood paintings include  his visual interpretations of the Rolling Stones band and  other musical artists. Pictured above are his paintings of (left to right), Slash of Guns and Roses, Jimi Hendrix, and Keith Richards. He has also designed several of the record albums for the band. He continues to paint and have art exhibits.

DavidBowieRockStarPortrait

Another rock and roll musician that is also an artist is David Bowie. His creative career has included not only his music and art but also as performance art, including as a mime and a avant-garde actor. He also has been a writer and  written reviews for The Modern Painter magazine in the 1990’s. An interesting fact concerning David Bowie and art is that he participated in one of the greatest art history hoax of all time by inventing Nat Tate, a forgotten 20th century artist.  He attended art school in his youth and still draws, paints and makes prints. His own artwork has been featured in art galleries in the US, England and Switzerland. He also started an art collection when he was younger and has said that it is the only thing he has ever been interested in owning. Among some of his paintings that he owns are a couple of Tintorettos and a Rubens painting.

My Rock Star Portraits of Rock Stars That Are Also Artists

There are other rock stars that are also artists. A few of them I knew about such as John Lennon,  Grace Slick, and John Mellancamp.  Last week, I did a feature blog about Cat Stevens, who is both a rock star and an artist.The other musicians that I did not realize are also artists include Miles Davis, Marilyn Manson, Joseph Arthur, Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Kim Gordon, Ryan Adams,Tony Bennett, Janis Joplin, and Joni Mitchell. Do you know of any others?  Please list any comments or questions on the comment form below.

JohnMellancampRockStarPortrait

CatStevenRockStarPortrai

DavidBowieRockStarPortrait

RonWoodRockstarPortrait

BobDylanRockStarPortrait

JohnLennonRRockStarPortrait

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GraceSlickRockStarPortrait

JanisJoplinRockStarPortrait