Cultural icon Bob Dylan has, over his lifetime, achieved the kind of fame that goes beyond the simplicity of a household name. While best known as a performer, Dylan’s versatility has seen him take the roles of poet, activist, filmmaker, and fine artist. And, while his work as a visual artist has often been compared to his better-known work in music, the two can’t really be separated; the artist’s personality and perspective can be found in Bob Dylan paintings and sketches as easily as his songs.
Dylan’s varied and ever-evolving art style has led him to produce several distinct collections, each linked to a particular aspect of his life and journey. His earliest work is closely interwoven with his life as a musician; a series of loose, captivating sketches that he created while on tour was produced as the now iconic “Drawn Blank” series. The sparse, energetic line work and gestural brushstrokes drew many comparisons to Dylan’s rough, grounded voice; the multiple editions of each sketch, coloured in different ways, was also likened to alternating riffs on a single piece of music. The work itself, however, is easily taken on its own merits, with each piece offering a glimpse into the mind of a keenly insightful observer and artist.
The instant success of Dylan’s initial print series could, naturally, be chalked up to his pre-existing fame. However, the value of visual expression for Dylan as an artist has been made undeniable by his constant movement towards trying new styles and working on new projects; rather than continuing to create his from-the-road sketches, he began to explore new mediums, producing acrylic paintings, silkscreen prints, and pastel portraits. His latest works have been a tribute to cinema; with cool, atmospheric realism, “Deep Focus” immerses the viewer in a series of single moments from the silver screen.
Some of the most popular Bob Dylan artworks are undoubtedly from his “Beaten Track” collection, a series of paintings that once more paid tribute to Dylan’s travels as a musician, this time focusing on the roads and vistas he associates with these journeys. The subjects chosen for these works speak to Dylan’s priorities, his loves, and his connection to his working-class roots. In his choice of neon-splashed roadside diners and motels, broken stretches of dusty desert road, and crowded, crumbling city corners, Dylan takes the viewer far away from the carefully perfected glamour that many other celebrities attempt to cultivate. Dylan has spoken about the importance of reflecting his own view within his work, as he purposely selects which elements to capture in his scenes. In a Vanity Fair essay published in 2018, he explained: “If you look half a block away from the Coney Island hot-dog stand, the sky is littered with high rises. I choose not to see them.”
The staggering commercial success of Bob Dylan’s limited edition prints and original artworks, of course, cannot be separated from the worldwide fame that he brought ready-made to his career as an artist. And, while the work itself stands on its own, the response from art collectors to Dylan’s art might also be attributed to the nature of his artistic production. With several distinct series, each with its own visual and thematic identity, his work is perfectly suited to collectors who want to curate their own set of paintings, sketches, or prints. Some Bob Dylan art collectors dedicate themselves to seeking out the missing piece to perfect their ideal selection of works from Drawn Blank, Mondo Scripto, Beaten Path, or others.
As an artist, Bob Dylan offers a grounded view of the world, a bone-deep appreciation of the everyday despite – or perhaps because – of his familiarity with the spotlight. In many ways, his ability to channel his creative endeavours into visual art is hardly surprising, considering the energy and focus he has brought to all other aspects of his creativity. This boundless energy and willingness to try new avenues has kept Dylan’s work fresh and new as he continues to draw attention from art lovers around the world.
