Celebrities who make art

We are delving into the world of celebrity, not to see the latest romance or what 'she' is wearing today but to discover which celebrities are also Artists who have discovered another creative outlet. Our question is, do they have real talent....?

Anthony Hopkins

Hopkins work appears to be primitive but on closer inspection his use of colour displays a sense of freedom, expectation and judgment, surely something we all wish to experience?

“I don’t think there’s any meaning in it. I just paint. I discover as I go along and I don’t analyse, I just go for it.”

 https://anthonyhopkinsart.com/

Seth Rogen

The actor began to explore pottery during quarantine and he has designed his own ashtray set for his cannabis company, Houseplant. Rogen shares his passion for cannabis—and the lifestyle that goes with it, with the aim of de-stigmatising notions about the plant. We love the style of his designs, which have a 70s and 80s aesthetic.

Jemima Kirke

Jemima kirke is an actor is also a Visual artist. In her portraiture, Kirke explores the individual quirks and human qualities of her subjects, which include her friends, co-stars, and children. Kirke has a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design and her work sells for thousands of dollars.

Viggo Mortensen

Best known as an Actor, Mortensen is also an author, musician, photographer, poet, and painter plus the founder of Perceval Press, a small publishing house.Alongside serving as an outlet for his own work, Perceval Press has also published dozens of books and CDs featuring the work of other poets, artists and musicians. Many of his pieces are mixed media pieces of painted canvas with fragments of photographs and poems. Often his photographs are manipulated, scratched and written on as well.

Prince Charles

Prince Charles started experimenting with the medium in the 1970s after realising that photography failed to offer him that same feeling of creative expression.Charles explains how watercolour painting enables him to refocus, preferring to paint 'en plein air' to capture the essence of the place. The largest display of his work was on display recently at Garrison Chapel in London, showcasing 79 of his watercolours. Charles is actually one of the most financially successful living artists in the United Kingdom.An investigation by The Telegraph found that between 1997 and 2016, prints of the prince’s paintings sold for a total of more than £6 million with all proceeds went to the Prince’s Foundation, which supports a range of charitable endeavors.

  

 Paul McCartney

McCartney has been painting since the early 1980s,  yet recently he has decided to share his work through the release of lithographs. Full of intense colour and life, these paintings reveal Paul McCartney’s tremendous positive spirit as well as a visual sophistication. He carves, scratches, and sculpts the paint, which create complex and layered works.

 

Pierce Brosnan

Before finding fame as an actor, Brosnan trained as a commercial artist and  pursued a career in art and began working as an illustrator, going on to paint numerous landscapes and abstracts as well as colourful portraits. 

http://www.piercebrosnan.com/artist/see-all/

The Wedding Ring, 1990

John Mellencamp

As his musical career flourished, Mellencamp began to paint earnestly in the 1980s, exhibiting his work in galleries and museums across the United States.

 'Voodoo Child' 2021

Johnny Depp

Depp's style is a blend of pop and street art, featuring vibrantly coloured representations of pop culture characters. In this first public exposure of Johnny's art he has focussed on 'Friends and Heroes'. People he has known well, and who have inspired him as a person. Under the collection name "Never Fear Truth," the actor is issuing non-fungible tokens (NFT)– one-of-a-kind, verifiable digital assets sold using blockchain technology, with 25% of the proceeds donated to various foundations. Depp's work is strong and colourful, taking inspiration fromPop Art.

 

Grimes

Boucher's creation is titled Grimes, "a persona and the imagined realm that she inhabits, spanning art, music, fashion, technology and film. The origin of Grimes recalls a sculptor's process: actualising a cerebral concept into physical reality, imagining raw material into being" prnewire.com (2022) The musician and artist has sold a collection of digital artworks (NFT's) for almost $6m.

 It is no surprise to find creative celebrities are professional artists as any fellow creative knows we need a few outlets. The question is, are they selling their work due to their artistic talent or their fame?