Although many of our favorite celebrities, be them actors or singers, are already at the top of their fields, many of them have some secret talents hiding beneath the surface. In fact, many of our favorite stars have been open about their love of art and even showed off some incredible paintings over the years.
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Most recently, for example, Sharon Stone debuted her newest art collection, titled Sharon Stone: Welcome To My Garden, at the C. Parker Gallery in Greenwich, Connecticut. “I created these works to understand the essence of pure creativity that comes from heartfelt truth, to let go of the noise, the judgments, and the pollution of our societal pulls,” Stone said in the announcement.
Luckily for us, Stone isn’t the only star who’s dabbled in painting over the years. Some other celebrity painters also include Lucy Liu, Pierce Brosnan, Gene Simmons, and many others. To check them out, and they’re incredible art, scroll below!
Lucy Liu
Elementary star Lucy Liu is a true artist and painter. In 2020, the actress displayed her first-ever art show, titled One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others, at the Napa Valley Museum in Yountville, California.
Earlier this year, Liu debuted another exhibition, this time at the New York Studio School. “Sharing this art show with my son has been the highlight of my year!” Liu wrote on Instagram alongside a behind-the-scenes video of the exhibit. “I love how kids see everything from every perspective.”
Johnny Depp
In July of 2022, Johnny Depp debuted his first-ever exhibit titled Friends & Heroes, People reports. The collection of 780 prints, which included portraits of Bob Dylan, Elizabeth Taylor, Al Pacino, Keith Richards, among others, sold out “almost immediately” for a grand total of $3.6 million. Talk about an impressive sale!
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
In 2020, when the brutal murder of George Floyd took over the country, Surface star Gugu Mbatha-Raw searched for connection and found it when she picked up a paintbrush. “[Painting] came out of trying to find connection in the pandemic and seeking a way to express myself at a time when my usual method of expression was blocked,” the actress told W Magazine.
Since then, Mbatha-Raw has shared many other portraits with her followers including paintings of Breonna Taylor, Chadwick Boseman, Desmond Tutu, and her Lift co-star Kevin Hart.
Tony Bennett
Singer Tony Bennett also loves to paint in his free time. According to People, Bennett’s favorite things to paint are still life images and Central Park landscapes out his window.
Pierce Brosnan
A little-known fact about former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan is that painting entered his life even before acting did. “Art saved my life,” the actor told People in 2021. “I managed to get a job, and I wanted to be a graphic artist. But I discovered acting three years into working at this studio and that was it, the tide turned.”
At the time, Brosnan was selling one of his paintings, titled Earplugs, at the Seasons Gallery in L.A. Since then, the actor has shared his colorful and ultra-expressive paintings with followers over the years.
Jim Carrey
As one of the most famous actors/painters in Hollywood, Jim Carrey has been open about his love for art with his fans over the years. Prior to leaving X (formerly known as Twitter), for example, Carrey would share his mostly political paintings on the platform. Unsurprisingly, many of the paintings included jabs at former president Donald Trump.
Jemima Kirke
Girls star Jemima Kirke is also no stranger to the paintbrush. In fact, the actress is a trained painter with a degree from the Rhode Island School of Design. On Instagram, Kirke often shares her artwork, from this stunning portrait of her sister Domino on her wedding day to touching portraits of expressive young girls.
George W. Bush
Former president George W. Bush also looks to painting during his spare time. In addition to painting world leaders and First Dogs, per People, Bush painted the portraits of 98 wounded warriors back in 2016 in the collection Portraits of Courage.
In 2021, Bush also released his book of portraits titled Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants.
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Sharon Stone
Image Credit: Courtesy C. Parker Gallery Sharon Stone’s newest art exhibition, at Greenwich, Connecticut’s C. Parker Gallery, features 19 paintings from the star. The exhibition will be shown from Oct 12 to Dec 3.
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Gene Simmons
Image Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images KISS frontman Gene Simmons is also a skilled painter. Talking to People, Simmons said he took up the hobby during the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to “stay sane.”
“I never considered myself a painter,” he told the outlet. “I never considered myself much of anything. You’re talking to the least qualified person you’d ever meet… I can tell you that I have a sense of wonder.”
In 2021, Simmons showed off 50 of his paintings, including this one pictured named Mother & Son, at a Las Vegas art gallery inside the Venetian.
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Sylvester Stallone
Image Credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images From December 2021 to February 2022, Sylvester Stallone showed his love and natural talent for painting in the Sylvester Stallone – Retrospektive zum 75 exhibition at at Osthaus Museum Hagen in Hagen, Germany. Among the nearly 50 canvases were self-portraits including the one pictured here. “Painting is where I feel close to a bare naked truth, so much so that I look at the canvas as some sort of an enemy,” Stallone told ArtNet at the time
“I’ve been working on a series of paintings based on emotions that actors portray in front of the camera,” he told the outlet. “The film industry is about [pretending], which lets artists shut out reality a bit and instead welcome fantasy.”