One creative medium usually lends itself to another, which is why many talented actors, musicians and all-around artists spill their leftover energy onto a blank canvas. We recently gave you a good look at some great
underground artists, but there are also a number of celebrities you probably didn't know were avid painters. Here are 12 notable examples.
Jim Carrey
The funnyman himself, Jim Carrey, is much more than your average comedic actor. In a recent episode of "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," he gave a rare look into his art studio and some of the larger scale, brightly colored abstract pieces he's been working on. Aside from painting, he's also a bit of an existentialist and spiritual person, which is apparent in his work. In 2012, he did his first solo show, "Nothing to See Here."
James Franco
He does it all: acting, writing, student, teacher, and the list goes on and on. James Franco, the renaissance animal he is, somehow finds time to work painting into his creative repertoire, too. Aside from this mural he did for the film "This Is the End," Franco also garnered extra attention for rendering the sketches of a
naked Seth Rogen by artist Christopher Schultz into paintings. Yes, he painted Seth Rogen nude, which is very bold.
Lucy Liu
For a long time, one of "Charlie's Angels" was an abstract artist, working under the brush name Yu Ling. In more recent years, Lucy Liu has come out with work under her own name. She works in the form of traditional art, as well as 3D renderings and sketches, but some of her best works are her textured paintings.
Johnny Depp
The quiet, dark mind of Johnny Depp typically lends itself to the silver screen, as well as live musical performances, but he is also known for painting portraitures. People like Patti Smith, Keith Richards, Bob Dylan and Marlon Brando are all subjects that semi-tortured artists like Depp have painted. He also paints his children a lot, with emphasis on capturing their emotion therein.
David Bowie
Colorful and insanely surreal like what you might expect from a David Bowie painting, the hands behind Ziggy Stardust are also known for their use of acrylics and computer collage on canvas. He also does a bit of sculpting. It's been that way since he studied art and design once upon a time. His earliest installations were in the mid-1990s, but his work comes from as far back as the 1970s.
Steven Tyler
He's already the lead singer of Aerosmith and a panel judge for "American Idol"; what more could you ask for from a man? How about some art? Steven Tyler has been painting and selling for years, and most of his work revolves around what he knows: rock 'n' roll. So it should come as no surprise that many of his projects incorporate skulls and guitars.
Sylvester Stallone
Here are a few things you should know about Sylvester Stallone: he likes to paint in the nude, his acting and painting go hand in hand and his brightly decorated paintings depict some of his acting career highlights such as "Rocky" and "Rambo" (we probably shouldn't have led off with painting in the nude, as it either scared you off or turned you on). Retrospective modern art from one of the mighty Expendables? Go on. After decades of painting, Sly has gotten a little less shy about showing his work off, doing exhibitions in France, for example, right outside of Cannes Film Festival.
Stevie Nicks
The Fleetwood Mac singer and
solo artist never picked up a paintbrush until the 1980s. After her best friend was diagnosed with leukemia, Stevie Nicks was inspired by the etheric work of angels, which you can see above. By the mid 1990s, she was even getting noticed for her work. Now painting is right there on her list of things to do alongside music.
Anthony Hopkins
The 77-year-old actor shows us you're never too old to pick up a new hobby. Coming from a gray England, Anthony Hopkins has been fascinated by the colors of California since his move in the 1970s to pursue acting. His studio up in the hills of Malibu is accompanied by music, a brush, and an oil set to help him escape the intensity of L.A. fame in the film industry. Some consider him a modern day Picasso, which is fitting since he's played him onscreen.
Joni Mitchell
She considers herself a painter first and a musician second, but that hasn't stopped Joni Mitchell from excelling at both. In fact, one helps the other, as many of her album covers are her own paintings. Starting with drawings in the 1940s moving on to painting several decades later, her catalog is as full as her music career. Felt pen on paper is another popular medium for the singer, and she loves doing portraiture of interesting folk artists, as well.
Swiss Beatz
Though he's better known lately as a promoter of other artists, curating shows with his art collection that includes Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Andy Warhol, Swiss Beatz is a bit of a painter, too. Be on the lookout for his work alongside other
underground artists.
Bob Dylan
After more than 50 years of putting out music, Bob Dylan has only been known as a painter for a relatively small amount of time. His art, much like his music, seems simple and nearly childlike in its composition and has become his documentation of places he's traveled while on tour. Even though he has published a few art books of his own, Dylan has been accused of plagiarism for many of his paintings. The claims say he steals from popular photographs and uses them as his own body of work, specifically when referring to the "The Asia Series" back around 2010.