16 rock stars who paint
Featuring members of KISS, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd
Last updated 17th Feb 2022
Planet Rock takes a look at 16 rock stars who have (or had) a passion for art, whether it be through paintings, sketches or, in the case of one musician, visually striking computer animations.
Some of the musicians in the list see painting as a hobby outside of the day job, however, others see it as intertwined with their music career and they have pursued art professionally.
Artists featured include members of The Rolling Stones, Def Leppard, Pink Floyd, The Clash, The Who, Nirvana, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Fleetwood Mac, KISS, Bon Jovi and The Beatles.
16 rock stars who paint:
Rick Allen
Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen has been obsessed with art since a child. Many of his creations are influenced by his own life experiences, as he explains: "My life has been a journey of transformation and my art is a reflection of the many experiences, perceptions, and dreams that have shaped me into the person I am today. Each piece has a story and a connection to my life. From my roots in England, teen rock stardom, the traumatic car accident, moving to America, travels around the globe, my family and to my deep connection to wounded warriors and their struggle to heal—it's all in these visual creations." Subjects he embraces include famous rock stars, eminent landmarks, music, Union Jacks, London and hearts.
Rick Allen – ‘Steve Clark’
In early 2018, Rick Allen completed work on a stunning painting of his late Def Leppard band mate Steve Clark. Part of his Legends series of paintings, which also includes John Lennon, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, the Steve Clark artwork went on display at the Wentworth Gallery in Short Hills, New Jersey. Rick Allen said: "The Legends piece is a way for me to celebrate my Love for Steve... working on the piece was a spiritual journey that uncovered my gratitude for having known him."
Paul Stanley
Influenced by artists including Kandinsky, Mondrian, Malevich, Paul Klee and Mark Rothko, KISS frontman Paul Stanley calls his art as 'emotionally charged compositions.' A description on his website reads: 'The scale is huge, the paint laid on thickly; the colours have been chosen in order to generate a powerfully physical and emotional effect. Paul's work can be associated with the Abstract Expressionists of the late 1940's and 1950's. He aims to maximize the direct, physical impact of his paintings through scale, texture, colour and simplicity of images.' He exhibited his artwork at the Wentworth Gallery in New York in 2007.
Paul Stanley – KISS portraits
Paul Stanley's portraits of the classic KISS line-up – himself, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss – on display at the Wentworth Gallery in New York in 2007. The portraits also feature KISS song lyrics synonymous with the band members.
Ronnie Wood
Ronnie Wood is prolific artist who trained at Ealing Art College in his teenage years prior to launching a rock career with The Faces and The Rolling Stones. Wood predominately paints icons of popular culture and his artworks have been displayed at galleries around the world. Wood's portrait of Eric Clapton adorns the Cream guitarist's 1988 box set 'Crossroads.'
Ronnie Wood – ‘Abstract Performance’
In February 2022, Ronnie Wood unveiled his latest painting of The Rolling Stones called 'Abstract Performance.' Featuring a nude Mick Jagger, the painting appeared on a billboard on Wood Lane in London and prints went on sale via Wood's website for two weeks only. Ronnie Wood said: "I call it The Picasso Stones. It's my interpretation of Picasso's painting The Three Dancers. Looking at the original, I was inspired to do my own take. I had great fun doing it. Picasso did his own take on a lot of artists, but I bet he never thought no one would ever do a take on him. I hope and think he'd be flattered, but also a bit shocked and pleasantly surprised at my take on his work."
Syd Barrett
Roger 'Syd' Barrett was a keen painter from his schooldays and viewed himself primarily as a visual artist instead of a musician. Aged 16 in 1962 Barrett studied in the art department of Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology where he met his future Pink Floyd band mate David Gilmour before enrolling at Camberwell College of Arts in 1964. Although his influential music career lasted less than a decade, Barrett painted for much longer than that and he enjoyed creating landscapes, portraits and sketches, amongst other things. However, despite being a prolific artist, not many of his canvasses survive as he often destroyed his artwork upon completion.
Syd Barrett - ‘Orange Dahlias in a Vase’
'Orange Dahlias in a Vase' is a painting Syd Barrett created as a 15-year-old schoolboy at Cambridgeshire High School for Boys in October 1961. He gave the painting to art teacher Gerald Harden, and in May 2021 it was auctioned at Cheffins Art & Design Sale in Cambridge where it fetched £28,270.
Grace Slick
Former Jefferson Airplane singer and songwriter Grace Slick retired from the music industry back in 1990 but she has remained an active visual artist. Predominately using mixed media, her artworks include rock and roll portraits and pieces that embrace Alice in Wonderland themes – particularly featuring Lewis Carroll's White Rabbit, which was the subject of Jefferson Airplane's 1967 anthem 'White Rabbit.'
Grace Slick – ‘Fireman’
A 2002 painting of Jimi Hendrix by Grace Slick called 'Fireman.'
David Bowie
David Bowie standing with his 1976 painting 'Portrait of JO' in November 1990 at Eduard Nakhamkin Fine Arts Gallery in New York City. JO, in case you're wondering, his good friend Iggy Pop, aka James Osterberg Jr. As well as being a keen painter himself, David Bowie was an avid art collector and owned works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Marcel Duchamp, Henry Moore, Damian Hirst and Frank Auerbach to name but a few.
David Bowie – ‘Child In Berlin’
David Bowie's haunting 1977 painting 'Child In Berlin', which he created while living in Geneva, Switzerland.
Kurt Cobain
Alongside pioneering the grunge movement, Nirvana legend Kurt Cobain was a keen artist and created hundreds of paintings before his untimely death aged 27 in 1994. Cobain famously created the collage on the back cover of Nirvana's 'In Utero' album and his art adorned the sleeve of the 1992 'Incesticide' album. In 2017 a series of Cobain's paintings and drawings went on display Seattle Art Fair that had been in storage since his death. Josh Roth from UTA Artist Space (United Talent Agency) remarked: "Kurt Cobain was perhaps the most iconic musician of his generation, but his work as a visual artist is often overlooked. These paintings provide an opportunity to see him, and some of his contemporaries, in a new light."
Kurt Cobain – ‘Fistula’
Kurt Cobain painting 'Fistula' on display at Seattle Art Fair in August 2017.
John Mellencamp
Esteemed singer-songwriter John Mellencamp embraced art from an early age and has retained his passion for painting alongside his music career. Art writer Hilarie M. Sheets notes: "For Mellencamp, painting has always been a refuge, a solitary antidote to the hectic life of touring and performing. He doesn't see it as a precious or rarified activity but rather about staying productive, keeping his mind engaged, making something out of nothing." His artworks have been the subjects of numerous displays including The Isolation Of Mister exhibition in New York.
John Mellencamp – ‘Wanted’
John Mellencamp's 2005 painting 'Wanted'
Michael Cartellone
Lynyrd Skynyrd and former Damn Yankees drummer Michael Cartellone is an accomplished artist who has displayed his work numerous times. Cartellone said his passion for painting started at kindergarten while he got into drumming a few years later. "I started drumming when I was 9, so the music and the visual art always coincided," he says. "For me, it's two halves of a whole and I could not imagine only doing one. It's the perfect balance for me."
Michael Cartellone – John Lennon
A Michael Cartellone painting of John Lennon on display at Grant Gallery in New York in 2006.
Paul Simonon
Prior to The Clash, Paul Simonon studied at Byam Shaw School of Art and has planned to become an artist before his music career took off. Simonon was predominately responsible for the visual aspects of The Clash such as clothing and stage backdrops, and, of course, the Pennie Smith photograph of Simonon smashing his bass on the 'London Calling' album cover has become an enduring image of not just the punk movement but contemporary music as a whole. His artworks have been the subject of several solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions.
Paul Simonon – Matador paintings
In the early 2000s, Paul Simonon created a series of matador paintings inspired by a visit to Spain. Here are four of them on display in London in 2008.
Tico Torres
Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres has been exhibiting his artworks since 1994. Commenting on the close correlation between music and art, Torres says: "I'm a musician. I'm an artist. That's just part of who I am. There is no doubt I could have survived without being in this band and made a living as an artist. But I think the art made me a better person, a better creator, a better musician...because music is just painting with sound instead of colours. It's intertwined. Art gave me another outlet to be creative, something I could do for the rest of my life, which I really love and enjoy."
Tico Torres – All That Jazz
All That Jazz is the companion piece to another of Tico Torres' paintings called Sound of Music. Created as a tribute to the Grammys, Tico incorporated abstract forms and vibrant colours reminiscent of his Cuban heritage.
Paul McCartney
In 1999, Beatles legend Paul McCartney released an aptly titled book called Paintings that collated his artworks over the years. Pictured is Paul McCartney at an exhibition in Germany with a painting called 'Big Mountain Face' that he created in 1991
Paul McCartney – Queen Elizabeth II paintings
A trio of paintings Paul McCartney created of Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. They're called (from top) 'The Queen after her first cigarette', 'The Queen getting a joke' and 'A greener Queen.'
Bob Dylan
Robert Zimmerman's visual art was first seen on the cover to The Band's seminal 1968 album 'Music from the Big Pink', and he went on to create artwork for several of his albums including 1970's 'Self Portrait' and 1974's 'Planet Waves'. A prolific artist, Bob Dylan's first art book called 'Writings and Drawings' was published in 1973, and since 1994 alone he has published eight books collating his artwork. His artwork has displayed at numerous exhibitions around the globe.
Bob Dylan – Vista From Balcony
A canvas painting by Bob Dylan entitled 'Vista From Balcony' on display at the Halcyon Gallery in London in 2010.
John Entwistle
The late Who bassist created numerous caricature-like sketches over the years. His works included self-portraits, pictures of his band mates and likenesses of other rock stars including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and David Bowie.
John Entwistle – ‘Spirit of ‘76’
John Entwistle at the Argyle Hotel in Los Angeles, California in 1997 with his sketch of The Who, 'Spirit of '76.'
Ringo Starr
Beatles drummer Ringo Starr started creating computer art of faces to pass away the hours in hotels while on tour. In 2012, Starr exhibited 14 of his vividly coloured creations at the Pop International Galleries in Soho, New York. Starr has also exhibited his photography work at several galleries around the globe.
Ringo Starr – ‘The Band’
An alien-like 2019 computer art painting created by Ringo Starr called 'The Band.' A signed version costs $4,000 (just under £3,000) from Starr's official website.
Stevie Nicks
Fleetwood Mac icon Stevie Nicks started painting angels when her best friend Robin Snyder was diagnosed with cancer in the early 1980s. Since then she has created a number of phantasy-like artworks.
Stevie Nicks – ‘Rhiannon’
Named after her song of the same name, Stevie Nicks completed work on Rhiannon in 1982. Commenting on how her dying friend Robin Snyder inspired her foray into art, Nicks said: "I never drew a thing before she got sick. I drew Rhiannon for her, to stay at the end of her bed so she could see something when I wasn't there. So that she would have something to stare at. So now I know that Robin is up there and I'm down here and we're both laughing about it because now it's finally come into its own."