Aurora Starchild
Johnny Depp’s creativity knows no bounds! The iconic 59-year-old actor has long been associated with genius character portrayals and more recently as a rock musician touring with the late Jeff Beck. But his newest artistic passion is painting, and he’s making quite a fortune! Johnny Depp just released his second installment of “Friends & Heroes,” which features 4 portraits of people he admires deeply.
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Johnny Depp’s “Friends & Heroes II” Features Four New Celebrity Portraits
Depp’s first “Friends & Heroes” collection was released in July 2022. He’d just been awarded over $10 million by a jury after a grueling and prolonged defamation lawsuit with ex-wife Amber Heard. The collection featured four Andy Warhol-esque portraits of some of the world’s biggest creative icons: Al Pacino, Elizabeth Taylor, Bob Dylan, and Keith Richards. The collection sold out “almost immediately” as Depp sold 780 prints via London’s Castle Fine Art Gallery. Depp made a whopping $3.6 million from the sales in a matter of hours. Prints were sold for $3,973 each and the entire set was available for $15,040.
Johnny Depp’s “Friends & Heroes II” collection features Bob Marley, River Phoenix, Heath Ledger, and Hunter S. Thompson, all icons who have passed away but left an indelible mark on the world. The 33.5” x 33.5” celebrity portrait prints were available for $4,523.02 a piece or $17,547 for the entire framed collection. But just like last time, the prints sold out almost immediately. As of now, only the set of 4 remains available.
Johnny Depp Only Recently Started Sharing His Paintings With the Public
“Each image is an intimate reflection of their character in Johnny’s eyes; a portrayal of how they have revealed themselves to him,” reads the Castle Fine Art Gallery’s description. “Working from photographic references, each image has been stripped back to a simpler and iconic portrayal of the subject, which Johnny has then developed and energised with his characteristic freehand flourishes.”
“All friends, all heroes,” said Depp in a video. “I’d like to see these four people together. I’d like to be in a room with those very cool people. It would be fascinating… These fellas contributed an enormous amount to the world.”
“As you know, for many years I really held myself strictly to the day job… the film business… cinema… and that was it,” Depp explained. “Even though in my heart forever I’ve been a musician. Even though in my brain’s needs, my personal needs, I’ve always needed to escape into some blank piece of paper. Whether it be writing or whether it be drawing or painting a blank can[vas]…”
Watch Johnny Depp Talk About His Friends and Heroes
The video shows Johnny Depp in his creative zone as he’s painting the portraits of his late friends. He uses his hands as well as sponges, brushes, and other tools. He continued to discuss how he realized that painting was a way for him to express himself, but that he’d always kept his work private up until recently.
“I’ve always used art to express my feelings, and to reflect on those who matter most to me, like my family, friends and people I admire,” Depp shared in the gallery’s brochure. “My paintings surround my life, but I kept them to myself and limited myself. No one should ever limit themselves.”
Depp Will Be Returning to the Silver Screen Very Soon as King Louis XV
After an emotionally exhausting past couple of years, Johnny Depp seems to finally be making a comeback thanks to his brave choice to share his portraits with the world. The Amber Heard drama has been blamed for Disney dropping him from their Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and despite public pleas for his return, it’s not clear if he’ll ever be Jack Sparrow again. He hasn’t made many public appearances in the past few years apart from within a courthouse or stepping onstage with Jeff Beck during his last and final tour. Depp has been doing voice acting for animated films as well as the video game Sea of Dawn.
But there is good news for anyone who is itching to see him onscreen again. Depp has finished filming Louis XV and plays the titular character of Jeanne du Barry. The film is currently in post-production. According to People, there are discussions about Louis XV premiering this May at the Cannes Film Festival.
