Coming tomorrow: Interview with Artist Arjan van Gent

Coming tomorrow on this blog: a special interview with Dutch artist Arjan van Gent, whose extraordinary portraits of David Bowie and his collaborators have captivated fans worldwide. The embedded video, created by Arjan, showcases some of his remarkable Bowie portraits, offering a visual highlight to accompany the discussion.

Arjan, trained at the Royal Academy of the Hague and the Amsterdam School of the Arts, blends Dutch artistic traditions with Bowie’s dynamic legacy. During our conversation, he shared how Bowie’s transformative personas inspired his artistic approach. “Bowie’s ability to reinvent himself was incredibly inspiring,” Arjan noted.

He explained his process of selecting impactful photographs and using Italian pigments and watercolors to create multi-layered portraits. This method, reminiscent of Renaissance underpainting, emphasizes light and shadow to bring depth and texture to his work.

One portrait we discussed features Bowie with Ava Cherry. Arjan highlighted the challenges of capturing their distinct expressions and textures. “Light is everything in painting,” he emphasized.

Arjan’s work extends to Bowie’s collaborators, including Earl Slick, Alan Childs, Carmine Rojas, Gail Ann Dorsey and Mike Garson, deepening the narrative of Bowie’s world.

Tomorrow’s post offers an engaging look at Arjan’s artistry and Bowie’s enduring impact. Don’t miss it!