Letters

In August of 2012 I began an unexpected creative journey which started with the daunting task of painting something that Gene Simmons might not have seen before. I almost did not even bother, thinking to myself "how is that even possible"? The man has had fans drawing and painting his likeness for damn near 40 years by some great artists. But something in me would not let the idea die. As I was looking at the cover image of the new album Monster, suddenly inspiration hit. The paint! How cool would it be to have the paint dripping from their faces? So I began to experiment. The result surprised even myself and the KISS fan inside of me said "that is REALLY cool". Now somehow I had to finish the other three band members who I would be meeting in less than a month. To my surprise and delight, Gene loved them and his reaction was beyond my wildest dreams. The encounter is something I will never forget. After completing my portraits of the current lineup which were presented to the band last September, I decided, out of respect, I had to do every member of the band who wore makeup throughout KISStory. These portraits were done for no other reason than as a KISS fan myself, I wanted to see them. Hopefully the KISS Army will as well. That all said, I am happy to say today that I have finally completed this journey. Without further adieu [insert drum roll here] last but certainly not least is my rendition of the original "Cat Man" and drummer Peter Criss. For more information please visit my web site www.davidewilkinson.com or my official Facebook page "The Wilkinson Gallery". Thank you KISS for all the great memories and music! David E. Wilkinson