Mellencamp

Paintings and Reflections

John Mellencamp

• Publisher: Harper
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN:
  9780062029195
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art General

John Mellencamp is one if the true Renaissance men of popular music. In the public spotlight for over twenty-five years, with a string of number one hits and multiplatinum records side to his artistic talent that is celebrated in the full-color selection of evocation paintings.Mellencamp began pursuing oil painting in 1988 as a means of further artistic exploration. His first subjects were friends, family, and landscapes reminiscent of the French impressionists, which have since evolved into a personal style of portraiture.Critics have drawn parallels between Mellencamp's work and the dark, shadowy paintings of the German expressionists. Mellencamp believes in art as a means of self-exploration and as an incentive to make people more curious about the world. He has exhibited extensively in the Midwest and the South, and most of his paintings have been purchased for private collections.With seventy-five full-color representations if the artist's favorite paintings, twenty-five black-and-white photographs taken from his personal collection, and an introduction by Billboard magazine's editor-in-chief, Timothy White, Mellencamp: Paintings and Reflections is the perfect gift for any Mellencamp fan or anyone who appreciates fine art. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

PAINTINGS

“The whole point of these dual portraits of men and women is the space between the subjects. It’s the part that’s not painted. What’s interesting to me is the vibe that you get between the people, you know, when you see a guy with a dagger in his hand, and blood dripping off of it, you have to question — how do these people feel about each other? And to me. it’s interesting, and sad, but it’s also very comical. It’s almost like theater. Most of the guys in these paintings are me — me with some woman, and you can kind of tell what’s going on in the relationship by the space that’s not painted.”

One of John’s first paintings. Everlasting Love was sold at the Triangle Gallery show, October 1989. Its whereabouts are unknown.

EVERLASTING LOVE, 1988

This is the first painting that I did of Elaine. I didn’t even know her here. She was just at the video shoot that day. I painted it from this photo four months later.

AMERICAN BOY AND GIRL II, 1991

THE HAPPY COUPLE, 1991-92

ADAM AND EVE, 1991

“This paint...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• CONTENTS
• MAN IN THE DARK: JOHN MELLENCAMP AND HIS PAINTINGS
• PAINTINGS
• Copyright
• About the Publisher