"My Uniform is Invisible" (White Raven)

Too gritty, too edgy, too dark, too rock and roll…these are all things I’ve heard from people inside the art industry over the years. During my conversations with publishers and gallery owners over the years, it was a frequent occurrence to hear that they loved my talent level but wanted me to pursue a different vibe and subject matter to suit their clientele. I even had one publisher try to convince me that the path to expanding my footprint was to do golf themed art (I couldn’t imagine a worse hell). Now, I don’t begrudge artists that tailor their art to the geographic location of the gallery (making money in this business is tough), but to me, that always felt like doing gift shop/souvenir art. There is no way that painting Flamingos for a Florida gallery could ever come from my heart. I’ll always believe art from your heart and soul hits differently.  

That being said, I am human and very ambitious, so the temptation to appease some high-volume galleries does creep in from time to time. When those thoughts cross my mind, I usually turn to my man Jack White, and more specifically, his song “The White Raven”. Although he is very successful, I feel that Jack has always put his art before commerce and mega stardom. I can’t exactly put my finger on why, but this song is where I turn to remind myself that if you take care of the art, it will take care of you.

 Thankfully, there are still many in the industry that subscribe to a different thought process and share the mindset of selling the artist and the ideas, not souvenirs. Not too long ago I had the privilege of spending an afternoon in L.A. tossing back drinks with a titan of the art industry and who has worked with some of the biggest music stars in the world, someone who I hold in high regard and whose opinion I take to heart. When he asked me why I was striving for galleries and events that wanted me to change my vibe, he profoundly stated…you don’t have the wrong art, you have the wrong dream

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.