Art Description: I’ve been a fan of Guns ‘n’ Roses since they released Appetite for Destruction in 1987, and have always loved Slash’s unique guitar sound. I was really happy when he started releasing solo albums, after a couple of Slash’s Snakepit albums in the 1990’s. And, I was especially happy when he enlisted Myles Kennedy, from Alter Bridge, as the vocalist for his new solo project. I feel that Slash really found a new creative groove around 2010 and has been enjoying a real purple patch since then, releasing some excellent music over the last few years. With all this in mind, I decided to honour Slash by creating a large, multi-layered portrait to tell the story of his life and successful career in rock music. The background collage is comprised of many found and cut out images of Slash's life, his family, loves and interests, and his amazing career in the music industry. Each image was cut out and lovingly pasted together by hand to form a colourful and complex background collage, which incorporates his face, his wild curly hair, rock star shades and leather top hat. I wanted to show everything that went into making Slash the legend of rock music that he has become over his successful career. He has worked with many famous musicians in his career, had lots of crazy rock ‘n’ roll adventures, and sold millions of albums over the years. And, all of this goes into the creative mix that makes Slash the immediately recognizable iconic rock star that he is today. The actual portrait of Slash was created using a selection of black permanent fine-line pens and graphic markers, on a 3mm thick clear acrylic sheet, then place on a foam board mount about an inch and a half above the background collage. Much Guns ‘n’ Roses, Slash’s Snakepit and Slash’s solo music was played during the six months that it took me to create such a large piece of artwork. This portrait was created with much love and admiration for Slash’s music, and to celebrate his new and exciting Appetite for Creation.
Medium Used: Pencil, colour pencil, fine-line pen, graphic marker Cut out images from magazines, scans, print outs and photocopies. PVA glue, spray glue and double sided tape. Cartridge Paper, clear acrylic sheet.