Chrissie Hynde

Chrissie Hynde's voice is one of the most recognised in the music world. The backdrop to her voice is a tapestry of events formative, disruptive, destructive and creative. A life whose course over the years has given
up to her audience a river of songs. The songs that are sung by this voice are uniquely Hynde's own.

This unique voice is found in her paintings as well. Whatever the subject matter each piece is filled with Hynde's spirit. It is true for all real artists that whatever is the subject of the picture, it is always the voice behind the work that can be heard. When we look at a portrait, we see a person seen through the artist's eyes; a still life is a pot seen through the artist's eyes; flower paintings resonate to the vibrations of the artist's eyes.

Hynde has always had a facility with the pencil or brush. From an early age she was able to create a likeness of people on paper. She enrolled at Kent University to study Fine Art, although at that time her interests were more musically oriented than art oriented. But if you have it, that visual facility never leaves you. Hynde moved back into the world of painting in a low key, private way. She found painting a meditative and affirmative process; and then, it feels almost by surprise, she realised that she was making paintings that talked to other people.

All good artists, writers or musicians have a distinctive voice, and that voice ... show more

Chrissie Hynde's voice is one of the most recognised in the music world. The backdrop to her voice is a tapestry of events formative, disruptive, destructive and creative. A life whose course over the years has given
up to her audience a river of songs. The songs that are sung by this voice are uniquely Hynde's own.

This unique voice is found in her paintings as well. Whatever the subject matter each piece is filled with Hynde's spirit. It is true for all real artists that whatever is the subject of the picture, it is always the voice behind the work that can be heard. When we look at a portrait, we see a person seen through the artist's eyes; a still life is a pot seen through the artist's eyes; flower paintings resonate to the vibrations of the artist's eyes.

Hynde has always had a facility with the pencil or brush. From an early age she was able to create a likeness of people on paper. She enrolled at Kent University to study Fine Art, although at that time her interests were more musically oriented than art oriented. But if you have it, that visual facility never leaves you. Hynde moved back into the world of painting in a low key, private way. She found painting a meditative and affirmative process; and then, it feels almost by surprise, she realised that she was making paintings that talked to other people.

All good artists, writers or musicians have a distinctive voice, and that voice

doesn't emerge from training or study - it is just there - a part of life. Hynde uniquely has found that her Rock n' Roll voice is the same voice she uses in painting. She paints like she sings - to communicate, tell stories, talk about people, express her feelings.

Her paintings are made using the established formats of portraiture, still life, abstraction. She is not being art-college "clever" she is doing what she loves - capturing moments and communicating them.

Hynde paints on canvases and when the paintings are finished she moves on, she does not do preparatory sketches, sometimes she finishes a painting before she is ready and so will paint another, but different, version of the same subject. The works are spontaneous and quickly done. Each painting is an adventure, sometimes finished in a matter of hours, sometimes longer and occasionally left brooding in the corner awaiting that tweak for completion. Her work is immediate and heartfelt in a timeless way. And the themes are about normal things,
everyday objects and everyday people; themes that people will recognise, but which are articulated in Hynde's own voice.