THE Rolling Stones will be in Newcastle next week - but on gallery walls rather than on stage.
A new body of work by Stones member Ronnie Wood will show that he is as deft with a paintbrush as he is with a guitar.
Five limited edition prints will go on display at the Castle Galleries, Monument Mall, Newcastle, on October 22 in a fusion of art and rock music.
Going under the heading The Famous Flames Suite, they show Wood and his fellow Rolling Stones – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts – belying their years and going at it full throttle.
The pictures, with titles such as Black Limo, Got Me Rockin’ and Rip This Joint, capture the raw energy of a Stones concert but show an audience member’s rather than a guitarist’s eye view of the group in action.
The Famous Flames Suite are Ronnie Wood’s debut collection for the print publisher Washington Green, which owns a chain of Castle Galleries outlets across the country.
The veteran rocker follows another music legend, Bob Dylan, on to the walls of the Newcastle gallery.
Ronnie Wood has been drawing and painting for longer than he has been playing guitar.
The Londoner, whose two elder brothers both became graphic artists, started painting at the age of 12 and went on to train at Ealing College of Art. In the end music – and a career with the Jeff Beck Group, The Faces and, since 1975, The Rolling Stones – won him over professionally.
But Wood says he has never abandoned his first creative love and cites the likes of Van Gogh, Matisse and Picasso as influences.
“When I get inspired I get almost possessed and I just have to paint,” he has said.
He has also described painting as a release from group responsibility. “Unlike music, it’s a solo effort. There’s no one else to blame.
“Then again, no one else gets the satisfaction out of it.”
Among collectors of Ronnie Wood’s art is fellow musician Bill Clinton, the former US President who played sax to relax.
Glyn Washington, managing director of Washington Green Fine Art, said: “This collection of art is testament to the enduring journey of a truly accomplished artist.”
