OLEAN, N.Y. — As a young man, Greg Souchik discovered he enjoyed painting rock and roll stars when he created an image of Bruce Springsteen on his bedroom wall.
Now, years later, the Bradford, Pa., artist is quite prolific with his renditions of rock and roll stars of the past and has plans to display his work in a book. Locally, Souchik is slated to display 30 of his art pieces during his solo show titled, “Rock & Roll in Black & White” at the Tri-County Arts Council Art Gallery at 110 W. State St. in Olean. The opening for the show will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 10. The evening will include appetizers and drinks and is free and open to the public.
Laurie Oliver, administrative assistant for the Arts Council, said some of Souchik’s work portrays well-known musicians at a young age while others depict them later in life.
Souchik’s acrylic paintings on canvas use only black and white, with grays in between, which reflect the media of the era, Most publicity photos and televisions of that period used this format.
“The stark contrast of these colors, the shadow, and the light mixed together create a unique view of these artists,” Oliver said.
Souchik, who is a member of the Arts Council, said his show features musicians from the 1960s and 1970s, including the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Janis Joplin and David Bowie.
“This is actually a prelude to a book I hope to publish this year,” he remarked.
In recalling his early years of painting rock stars, Souchik said it all began on a wall in the bedroom of a former home.
“Going back to 1977, I had a wall in my bedroom that was blank and I didn’t have anything to hang on it,” he remembers. “So I thought I’d paint a picture on the wall.”
Armed with Inferior paint brushes and Rust-Oleum paint, he painted an image of Bruce Springsteen from the “Born to Run” album cover on the masonite wall.
“I actually still have that original piece,” he added. “I cut it out of the wall when I left — but I fixed the wall.”
Souchik said began painting the art form again years later and became “quite prolific in the last 10 years.”
Along those lines, Souchik and fellow artist Rick Minard painted murals of several rock stars on the side of a building Souchik owns at 177 Main St. in Bradford. The painting of the portraits depicting Janis Joplin next to fellow musicians Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone coincided with the 50th anniversary of the famous Woodstock weekend in August of 1969.
Souchik said he expects to create more murals in area communities in the future.
“It’s positive to the community,” Souchik said of murals. “There’s really no negatives to it. It gets people involved in the community and puts color and interest in art in a community.”
Oliver said Souchik’s exhibit will run through Feb. 28 at the art gallery, which is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays. For more information, call the Arts Council at 716-372-7455.
