The following report is courtesy of Mike Kerwick from Northjersey.com:
Paint used to be PAUL STANLEY's mask, a coat that simultaneously brought him fame and shielded him from his fans.
For the better part of 30 years, Stanley crisscrossed the country wearing a layer of white on his face, slathers of red on his lips and a black star around his right eye. He would hit the stage in black spandex, his buddy Gene (Simmons) would spit blood, and his band would pledge to rock-and-roll all night ... and party ev-uh-ree day.
Paint carried Stanley and the three other makeup-clad members of KISS from one packed house to another, from one continent to another, from one collection of screaming fans to another. It helped Stanley carve out his onstage identity.
So is it any surprise that Stanley gravitated toward paint? Is it any surprise that Stanley found a calling capable of complementing his music?
"There's two kinds of music and only two kinds of art," Stanley said, "good and bad. And you can find both in any style."
Six years ago, he first took up brushes and began splashing colors around on a blank canvas. A friend told Stanley he painted to deal with grief. Stanley had never painted but did major in art at a performing-arts school when he was young.
"When you try to tell people when you're 6 years old that you want to be a rock star, they pat you on the head and say, 'Go play cowboys and Indians,' " Stanley said. "I pursued more art. It seemed more practical. Ultimately, I figured that my calling was really music."
Source Morthjersey |