'Bowie : Reincarnation' - Oil on Canvas (90 x 90cm)
I wanted to do a portrait of David Bowie that blends two of his personas into one. The young alter ego 'Aladdin Sane' has Bowie with his eyes closed (as in the album cover, below). The older David is merged, with eyes open, making the two portraits link together.
These personalities exist in the pop bubble world - as suggested by the space helmet over Bowie's head in the painting, also a nod to his songs, 'Space Oddity' and 'Star Man'.
I listened to a lot of David's early and mid-career music whilst painting this portrait but was most inspired by the 'Black Star' album.
To my mind, some of Bowie's best songs came from this album. 'Lazarus' in particular has the honesty and foresight to see what happens after he is a music star; I found myself painting bluebirds (these are mentioned several times in Lazarus) outside of the space helmet, alluding to the afterlife.
'Bowie : Reincarnation' is currently on display at 'The Patchwork Mouse' Art Cafe in Painswick until 21st August.
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