Bob Dylan doesn’t just sing and write music, he’s an artist too! For the first time ever a collection of the American singer-songwriter’s artwork is now being shown in the Ross Art Group gallery, New York.
“Bob Dylan’s mind is a creative mind and that doesn’t stop just at music,” gallery owner Mickey Ross told the New York Daily News . “It’s reflected in his paintings.”
The exhibition consists of about fifty re-imagined sketches made by Bob Dylan between 1989 and 1992. Dylan’s sketches being displayed in New York are based on a series of drawings he called the “Drawn Blank Series.”
Mickey Ross had this to say regarding the foundations of the exhibition according to Euronews.com , “The series started with Bob Dylan’s sketches while he was travelling on the road. Most of these sketches were done over 15 years ago. They were put together in a book at one point as black and white sketches. And it was a book that was published by Random House called ‘Drawn Blank Series.’”
The New York art exhibit by Bob Dylan is the culmination of work that started in 2007 when a German art museum came to him with an interesting concept.
“In 2007 Bob Dylan was approached by a museum in Germany with the concept of taking those very same sketches and now enlarging them, because the sketches were rather small… And adding color to them,” added Ross. “Most importantly what Bob Dylan wants is for each viewer of his art is to have their own personal perception of his art.”
The New York Daily News described Bob Dylan’s artwork eloquently, “Art connoisseurs may question the quality, but the pieces are simple — like acoustic songs from the Bard’s early folk days. The vibrant colors bring to mind the bold vistas of absinthe-prone Impressionist painters rather than the rocker behind bitter tunes.”
The works include pencil sketches and other art styles. In some of the works, Dylan has painted over prints, changing their look completely and giving them a unique style.
The artwork on exhibition is being offered for sale ranging in value from $2,500 for a limited edition print, to $400,000 for an original acrylic painting.
The Bob Dylan art exhibit will run from May 8 to May 30 at the Ross Art Group gallery in New York, NY. A portion of the earnings will benefit the T.J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia, Cancer and AIDS research.