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Paintings and portraits - the Bard of Ely as depicted by other painters and artists

Updated on September 10, 2015

Portraits of the Bard of Ely

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Bard of Ely by Paco de ColmenarBard of Ely as the Legendary Steve Andrews by BlodwenBard of Ely by Paco de ColmenarBard of Ely by Neil JonesAssorted artistic images of the Bard of ElyBard of Ely by Eldad Druks
Bard of Ely by Paco de Colmenar
Bard of Ely by Paco de Colmenar
Bard of Ely as the Legendary Steve Andrews by Blodwen
Bard of Ely as the Legendary Steve Andrews by Blodwen
Bard of Ely by Paco de Colmenar
Bard of Ely by Paco de Colmenar
Bard of Ely by Neil Jones
Bard of Ely by Neil Jones
Assorted artistic images of the Bard of Ely
Assorted artistic images of the Bard of Ely
Bard of Ely by Eldad Druks
Bard of Ely by Eldad Druks

Flattering artwork

Are you interested in paintings and artwork depicting celebrities you like or friends and family? Photos are wonderful but an artist can add that something extra!

For any individual it is very flattering having portrait paintings and drawings done by different artists, and if you are part of entertainment circles it is also very useful for getting more publicity and attracting attention. It is also very interesting seeing how others portray the subject of their paintings or sketches.

On a personal level, over the years since I have been painted and drawn by a great variety of artists and the images they have created have been used in many places including in books, on websites and even in The Guardian newspaper.


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Portraits

One thing I like about portraits is they provide a sort of visual chronological historical record. Artists paint and draw you as you were at a specific time.

Neil Jones who lives in Cardiff once painted a picture of me about 10 years back and in it I was wearing my druid robe and carrying a staff. I am a member of the Loyal Arthurian Warband (a druidic order) and the Berengaria Order of Druids, so this depiction was accurate.

I even had an American Indian bead-work pendant with an eagle on it that appears in Neil's painting.

Spanish artist Paco de Colmenar

Years later when I was living in Tenerife and had dyed my hair and beard, the Spanish painter Paco de Colmenar painted two portraits of me. One was when I had my hair purple and beard dyed green and the other was when it was all turquoise.

Paco and I became friends via the Myspace social networking site and I think he is a brilliant artist. I have included a link to his website in the links section below so you can go and see what I mean.

So popular have Paco's paintings of me proved to be, and so eye-catching and colourful are they, that I often use them on websites as my artist picture or avatar.

C.J. Stone

Back in the `90s I was featured in a story in CJ Stone's Housing Benefit Hill column in The Guardian newspaper. It was an artist's impression of me playing my song Rubber Ducky . CJ's story was about how I once performed this at the Windsor Pop Festival back in the early '70s.

Then again in 1999, I was in his book The Last of the Hippies, which was published by Faber and Faber. Several illustrations of me by CJ's friend Eldad Druks accompany the story.

The Legendary Steve Andrews

A few years ago I created a new Myspace site for my songs when I was once known as "The Legendary Steve Andrews" in the Cardiff area where I often played live at the time.

My good friend Sioned Williams aka Blodwen did a painting of me for this and more recently she has painted the artwork for my album Welsh Wizard on DMMG Records.

Pete Fowler - artist for the Super Furry Animals

And artist Pete Fowler, who made a name for himself as the Super Furry Animals' artist and visual designer, did the cartoon-style artwork for an old cassette album of mine entitled Bootlegged in the Backroom . Pete had created the art for several releases by the Super Furries and designed huge blow up pandas that accompanied them as a visual display at the band's concerts.

Like I said, the illustrations and portrait paintings by different artists makes a great visual biographical account of my career. I also really enjoy seeing how other people see me. It is like seeing through someone else's eyes! A portrait picks out things in your character as well as your physical looks that stand out.

Painting a Portrait

Portrait by Holly van Heffernan

Bard of Ely portrait by Holly van Heffernan
Bard of Ely portrait by Holly van Heffernan

A new portrait

I have recently befriended couchsurfers Rory Renton and his girlfriend Holly van Heffernan and the couple have been staying on Tenerife for the last couple of months. Rory was actually born on the island many years ago but has decided to make a return visist after living away.

Couchsurfing, by the way, is a way of life for a large group of people who travel the world on the cheap by staying at the homes of other couch-surfers they have met via the website for this. Couchsurfers write recommendations for each other and share their experiences, and they also often help out people they are staying with.

I found that I get on exceedingly well with Rory and Holly and that we share many interests in life. Holly is an artist and has just surprised me by creating a really excellent portrait of me that captures my character and colourful look.

© 2010 Steve Andrews

working

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