Status of Original Painting – Private Collection

Size: 12.25 x 21  inches

Medium: Watercolour on 300 lb Arches

Description:

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have long been among my favorite rock bands. I’ve seen them several times, although not in recent years. Depicted here are Bruce flanked on the left by the inimitable but late Clarence Clemons on saxophone, and on the right by Steve Van Zandt (“Little Steven” or “Miami Steve”). They are depicting performing at the UK Glastonbury Festival in 2009.

“Born to Run” seemed the best title for this piece, although one of my favorite Springsteen tunes, “I’m a Rocker,” was in contention.

I enjoy doing these images of rock musicians performing live. They’re a change of pace, a sort of cleansing of the artistic palette. It’s fun to paint very sharp and dramatic contrasts in lighting, such as from the white of the guitar to the black of the background, and the splashes of rich, spotlit colors such as the red arms on Clarence.

The rock musician paintings now include Pete Townshend of The Who in “One With the Music,” the Fab Four in “Beatles on the Rooftop,” Bono and Edge of U2 in “With Or Without You,” and Jagger and Richards of The Rolling Stones in “Mick and Keith.”

These references photos come from Alamy, using a license that permits use as reference material by an artist. The original photos were taken by Robert Noyes.