Photo: Kevin Winter/BAFTA LA / Contributor (Getty Images)
Celebrity artists are on the rise, and we’re not talking about artwork worthy of the bottom shelf at your local Color Me Mine. Painting and self-expression are cool again and celebrities are sharing their creative wares with their fans and art lovers alike. While they may not be on the level of Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, or Jackson Pollock (yet), their bodies of work are impressive and inspiring. Here’s a surrealist-abstractionist sampling of our favorite artistic celebrities.
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Actors Who Are Artists
Jim Carrey
Funnyman Jim Carrey initially won us over with roles in films like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask . In recent years, his transition to deeply dramatic roles also lead to picking up a paint brush. The transition was easy, he recently even had a solo exhibition of his work: Jim Carrey: Nothing To See Here , in Palm Springs.
Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer (Getty Images)
Johnny Depp
Not only is Johnny Depp an incredible actor and solid musician (probably a vampire, too), he also paints, sticking to mostly weird but intriguing portraits ranging from Jack Kerouac to Marlon Brando.
Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer (Getty Images)
Miley Cyrus
The pop-star that Disney built is not only dropping pop hits on the regular, she's also a sculptor and collage artist. She was recently even invited to display her work at Art Basel in Miami.
Photo: Dave J Hogan (Getty Images)
James Franco
James Franco is a bit of a renaissance man: acting, painting, performance art....you name it and this guy has a hand in it. He's a big player in Hollywood, building a solid acting resume. The film This Is The End displays some of his art, but time will tell if his moonlighting pays off.
Photo: Stefanie Keenan (Getty Images)
Lucy Liu
Best known as a badass from Kill Bill and Charlie’s Angels , actress Lucy Liu is also a very talented abstract artist. She's kicked, punched and painted on canvas for years, under the pseudonym Yu Ling.
Photo: Aurora Rose (Getty Images)
Billy Zane
To most people, Billy Zane is a bit of an enigma. He's typically referred to as "that guy from that thing," but he's an incredible artist in addition to being an actor. During the filming of Titanic, Zane picked up a brush and now he's got shows popping up all over the world.
Photo: Getty Images
Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer has been an iconic leading man since the second he set foot on his first feature film, Top Shot! His resume speaks volumes for his talent. In addition to working with every major director in the business for the last three decades, he's an accomplished artist with exhibits and pop-up shows spanning the globe.
Photo: Jason LaVeris (Getty Images)
Anthony Hopkins
Hello, Clarice, an artist with depth and darkness wishes to speak with you. Actor and all-around scary person Anthony Hopkins is an accomplished painter who actually played Pablo Picasso in a film once, which of course inspired much of Hopkins' own work. His paintings have been described as "Picasso with a darkness."
Photo: Timothy Hiatt (Getty Images)
Joni Mitchell
Singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell is an absolute legend. But she actually considers herself an artist first and a musician second. She dropped out of art school at 19, but continued painting her entire life, and her work is astonishing. In fact, some of her art served as album covers during her music career.
Photo: Amy Graves (Getty Images)
David Bowie
Bowie was not only the face of glam-rock and seemingly a rock-alien from the planet Vultron, he also studied art and design and painted with vast depth and surrealism for years, sometimes using his own face as a canvas.
Photo: Gijsbert Hanekroot (Getty Images)
Dennis Hopper
The man, the myth, the legend Dennis Hopper was a classic Hollywood wild man with classic films under his belt. He was also a gifted painter with a unique eye for 1960's culture. He even worked with Andy Warhol.
Photo: Gustavo Caballero (Getty Images)
Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin was an iconic voice for a generation in the 1960s, with a huge catalog of music and artwork. Unfortunately, we lost her way too early. Maybe someday her art will be as celebrated as her music.
Photo: DB/Staff (Getty Images)