Leeds artist’s portraits of music legends go on display at Northern Guitars
A local artists is displaying six artworks of famous musicians at Northern Guitars in Leeds
Six large portraits of well-known musicians are on display at Northern Guitars in Leeds as part of an exhibition celebrating live music.
The works are by Leeds artist Lee Bucilli and include portraits of David Bowie, Amy Winehouse, Jim Morrison, Elvis Presley, Talking Heads’ David Byrne and Rhian Teasdale from Wet Leg.
Called Gig Lit, the exhibition features musicians performing on stage, painted on aluminium panels with enamel paints.
“I love music,” Bucilli told the Yorkshire Evening Post. “So that’s the link to this exhibition at Northern Guitars.”
Lee’s route into painting began after leaving the Army, when he took a job painting traditional pub signs for breweries including Tetley’s and Ansell’s.
The signs were painted on aluminium panels using enamel paints - a technique which has stayed with him.
He now specialises in portraiture and has also worked for Leeds United, the Army Benevolent Fund and the Victoria Cross Trust.
Among the artists displayed at Northern Guitars is David Byrne from Talking Heads.
“I saw him at Halifax’s Piece Hall in July. He was brilliant,” Lee said. “The painting I did was from the ’83/’84 Stop Making Sense concert, just beautifully stage-lit, really. So perfect for a painted portrait.”
He said he was not trying to make the portraits photorealistic.
“I’m not one of these people who tries to capture photorealism or anything like that in my painting. I want them to look like paintings, and they are, but there’s certain kind of light that’s really important for a portrait.”
While originally planning to display eight artworks, the six paintings found their way to Northern Guitars by chance.
“My 12-year-old daughter has just started playing bass and I went in to get a sling for her and I just got talking to the owner,” Lee said. “So it was a bit of a fluke really.”
The venue turned out to be a good fit for the exhibition.
“It’s only small, but it’s a lovely, intimate gig venue,” Lee said. “Perfect really for the Gig Lit exhibition.”
The lighting inside Northern Guitars has also helped show off the paintings.
“The lighting in there is so, you know, because it’s kind of a bit subdued and a bit fairy lights and everything. It’s perfect for the paintings. Yeah, and that’s a pure fluke.”
Gig Lit is on display at Northern Guitars on Call Lane now.