Sunday, December 27, 2020

Pop art

"I'm a naive self-taught artist that just paints the greatest hits of stuff I like." It's not like a former rock star to be modest and humble, especially one who seems to have found a second calling in life. But, on the evidence of this BBC profile, ex-60ft Dolls drummer (and near-neighbour of ours here in Canton) Carl Bevan has been taken aback by the response to the results of his decision to swap sticks for brushes.

This is presumably in part because his foray into painting has first and foremost been for personal reasons - a means of coping with the end of his musical career: "Finishing music was painful as it was my life but art quickly filled any void so I didn't miss it." As for so many people, he says that continuing to have an outlet for his creativity has been invaluable: "Painting has been amazing for my sanity, especially in lockdown."

Whatever the personal motivation for and benefits of his new pursuit, though, Bevan has clearly struck a chord with others, given how quickly prints of his pictures have sold out. Not bad for someone who claims to feel "like a caveman who has just discovered fire".

When it came to choosing one of his paintings for our wall, it wasn't much of a decision. A tribute to Cardiff gig-goers' Mecca Womanby Street entitled Gareth Bale, I Will Never Forgive You For Dempsey's? I was instantly sold.

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