Requests for a Tupac came early and often. I had painted him a few times to follow up the Biggie Smalls piece I did a few years back, but they didn’t quite cut it, and were filed into the dumpster.

Trying to figure out a concept for Tupac was quite difficult because he himself seemed to be quite contradictory. On one hand he was a very militant and articulate artist who used his platform to address social and political issues. I’ve always stated that I gravitate towards artist who have something to say and he certainly did. On the other hand, he would do a complete one eighty and sing a track that could only be described as gangster rap. He seemed to be pulled back and forth between the two worlds. Part Bob Dylan and part Eazy E.

The concept finally revealed itself to me through a series of events that lead me to watch the Netflix series Unsolved followed by the motion picture All Eyes on Me. The fire for the project was re-ignited through these shows and the concept, leaning towards the philosophical side of Tupac, soon followed.

About Stickman

Trevor Stickman Stickel specializes in musically based portraits that capture legendary moments, powerful ideas and raw emotion. His work is described as gritty-yet-fresh, complex-yet-simple. Graduating from a Jekyll and Hyde influence early in his career in which he divided his time between family portraits and design work on helmets and Harleys – Trevor had the epiphany to combine both styles while reading According to the Rolling Stones . Two weeks later he finished his first canvas portrait of Mick Jagger that would thrust him into a different realm of the art world an aptly titled it Please allow me to introduce myself .

The Mission

The idea or mission behind my art work was to create an artistic tribute to something (music) and to the people (musicians) that have had a tremendous impact on me and basically shaped my world. Historically these tributes have been limited to photos posters that have adorned the bedroom walls of teenagers and dorm rooms throughout adolescence. I wanted to create a style of art that brings these iconic figures back into our life, and do so in manner that we as adults can display proudly in our homes. When planning a piece I often imagine how the finished piece would look in a contemporary living room, dining room, lounge, etc.

The Concept

In order to achieve the mission stated above as well as explore my creative and artistic side, the idea of amalgamating different artistic disciplines on the same canvas was born. The concept is to take my portrait realism and juxtapose it with a background that expresses my feeling and emotions of the subject I m painting. This method also allows me to explore other disciplines of art – many of my backgrounds will include Abstract, Expressionism, Impressionism, Realism, Pop Art, Street Art, Surrealism and quite often a combination of these. This is where I get to enjoy the artistic side of these pieces as well as paying additional homage to some of my favorite visual artists. My work is a true collaboration of music and art where I take a very influential subject matter and combine it with inspiration from artists such as Warhol, Bansky, Basquiat and Pollock to name just a few.