"David" (David Bowie)

"I’ve been fortunate enough to visit some of the most amazing art galleries in the world, including the Vatican and the Louvre. It’s no surprise how much I enjoyed seeing some of the most iconic paintings in the world, but what caught me off guard was how much I was drawn to the statues. Almost immediately, ideas started bouncing around in my head about who would be the modern-day philosophers and poets people would look upon hundreds of years from now. Naturally, that path headed towards the musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries. I started to conceptualize a few different ways to portray this idea, and am looking forward to sharing some more of these concepts very soon.  This piece was the first to be actualized. I figured the most recognizable statue in the world would be a good jumping off point. And with its title simply being "DAVID", it was almost taunting me to paint it as a defaced statue with the most prominent David in rock and roll history. The concept of incorporating the Bowie lightning bolt to the face is a collision of Michelangelo’s world/art with my own." - Stickman

About Stickman

Trevor "Stickman" Stickel specializes in musically based portraits that capture legendary moments, powerful ideas and raw emotion. His work is described as gritty-yet-fresh, complex-yet-simple. Graduating from a Jekyll and Hyde influence early in his career in which he divided his time between family portraits and design work on helmets and Harleys - Trevor had the epiphany to combine both styles while reading "According to the Rolling Stones". Two weeks later he finished his first canvas portrait of Mick Jagger that would thrust him into a different realm of the art world an aptly titled it "Please allow me to introduce myself".

The Mission

The idea or "mission" behind my artwork was to create an artistic tribute to something (music) and to the people (musicians) that have had a tremendous impact on me and basically shaped my world. Historically these tributes have been limited to photos/posters that have adorned the bedroom walls of teenagers and dorm rooms throughout adolescence. I wanted to create a style of art that brings these iconic figures back into our life, and do so in manner that we as adults can display proudly in our homes. When planning a piece I often imagine how the finished piece would look in a contemporary living room, dining room, lounge, etc.

The Concept

In order to achieve the mission stated above as well as explore my creative and artistic side, the idea of amalgamating different artistic disciplines on the same canvas was born. The concept is to take my portrait realism and juxtapose it with a background that expresses my feeling and emotions of the subject I'm painting. This method also allows me to explore other disciplines of art - many of my backgrounds will include Abstract, Expressionism, Impressionism, Realism, Pop Art, Street Art, Surrealism and quite often a combination of these. This is where I get to enjoy the artistic side of these pieces as well as paying additional homage to some of my favorite visual artists. My work is a true collaboration of music and art where I take a very influential subject matter and combine it with inspiration from artists such as Warhol, Bansky, Basquiat and Pollock to name just a few.