Sylvester Stallone explains his first-ever painting of Rocky, before the film was even written. Stallone famously wrote Rocky in three-and-a-half days in 1975, with the script then being shopped around Hollywood with his name attached to play the titular character as well. Eventually, director John G. Avildsen took on the project and Stallone starred as the lead, which became a global phenomenon, spawning multiple sequels and spinoffs.
Throughout his life, however, Stallone did more than writing and acting. The prolific star has been a painter for decades, making several self portraits, as well as a variety of other subjects. His work has been featured in museums and showcases, and prints and originals can be purchased online, although it isn’t sold in the higher tiers of more well known or popular modern artists.
One particular art piece, however, is notable in that it features a self-portrait of Rocky Balboa before he was ever written into a script. In a piece from artnet, the actor/artist talks about the piece and significance of it as it relates to his perception of the character just prior to putting him on the page. The piece, titled “Finding Rocky” is featured in a new survey at the Osthaus Museum in Hagen, Germany, which features a number of works from his early days as a struggling actor and aspiring painter. Stallone says of the piece:
“I made a self-portrait with a more defined ‘pug face’ than I had back then, but to capture his sadness, I switched the brush with a screw driver and carved the eyes.”
Stallone has portrayed many of his on-screen characters through his work, including his more popular ones like Rocky and Rambo. Stallone’s last performance as Rocky was in 2018’s Creed II, where he acted as trainer/mentor to Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed. His last outing as Rambo was in 2019’s Rambo: Last Blood. He currently has no plans to continue with those characters, but has not thrown in the towel on acting just yet, with 2022 seeing the release of his superhero film The Samaritan and the recent announcement that he’ll star as a mobster in a new series called Kansas City from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan.
There are many actors and filmmakers in Hollywood that wear many hats, be it as artists, writers, musicians, etc. and it’s interesting to see what else they get up to when not acting. Alongside Stallone, other artists that also paint are Lucy Liu, Viggo Mortensen, Jim Carrey, Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Depp and Pierce Brosnan, all of whom have had varying degrees of success in that venture. As creative individuals, it’s not uncommon to see them dip their brush in other mediums, although it doesn’t always mean that it will make them quit their day job either. Thankfully, for Stallone, his Rocky self portrait came to life and helped usher in the career he wanted most.
Source: Artnet
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