Of Stages and Studios

Meredith McGrane, contributor

 

On a gloomy Sunday in the early 2000s, I visited an art gallery on the outskirts of Boston in hopes of meeting Grace Slick. Slick, the female frontwoman of the Bay Area’s 1960s psychedelic band Jefferson Airplane, was launching a second act as a visual artist, and an appearance had been slated for opening weekend. In the end, Slick was unwell. Or rather, she had made it to Saturday, but not Sunday. I was a day late. I happily wandered through the exhibit anyway, absorbing the musician-turned-artist’s vibrant rock portraits and trippy Alice in Wonderland–inspired paintings, all while humming “Somebody to Love” under my breath.​

Musicians have long been creative multi-hyphenates. Their deep-rooted creativity spilling into other mediums can be a natural evolution. What a musician feels with lyrics and chords one day can ooze into acrylics or clay the next. I mean, sometimes when you have talent, that talent just won't quit! Paul McCartney, when not making music, is a painter, poet, photographer, and children’s book author, to name only a few. I bought his coffee-table book of dreamy, colorful paintings in the early 2000s as well. After years of painting, McCartney finally exhibited his work in 1999. He cited painting as another outlet in his creative drive, sharing: “Some days the inspiration is a musical one, and other days it has just got to be painting.”

 

Did you know David Bowie was also an expressionist painter? And Bryan Adams has photographed for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar? John Lennon, an art-school dropout, created whimsical but emotive line art. Joni Mitchell will tell you she’s a painter first and musician second, often painting her own album covers. Lenny Kravitz published a black-and-white photography book. Jim Morrison was hailed as a poet. And Patti Smith does it all!

 

Bob Dylan is another prolific artist of many mediums. Think writer, painter, poet, ironwork sculptor, and more. Dylan has also been known to reinvent himself, or adopt various personas, depending on who you ask. So a mixed artistic path is fitting for him.  

 

These musicians, and so many others, possess a bubbling of creativity that never fit neatly into one container. And with increased musical achievement inevitably comes pressure to meet fan expectations and commercial success. So perhaps being a beginner, in any new medium, can be…freeing! A personal space where curiosity and play triumph over mastery and perfection. 

 

There’s something in this for all of us, a nudge to pick up the guitar, put pen to paper, or dust off that camera. Let Joni Mitchell inspire, as she once said, "When the spirit of child's play enters into the creative process, it's a wonderful force and something to be nurtured.”