Holland Is The Artist Of John Travolta
The painting flowed from the brush to the easel almost effortlessly for Holland. Sometimes a subject simply resonates perfectly with an artist. And this was just the case for Stephen Holland when he set out to paint the portrait of the legendary actor John Travolta.
Maybe it's because the first roles Travolta made a name for himself (Vinnie from Welcome Back Kotter & Tony from Saturday night Fever) shared the same upbringing as Holland, as they came from the working class neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Or, perhaps it's the tough guy connection. Holland, being well
known for his paintings of iconic tough guys of all variety, and the vivid tough guys of the screen that Travolta has played (Chill Palmer in Get Shorty and Sean Archer in Face Off).
Both of these are probably in the mix to some degree. But that isn't it, it's the special gift they both share, and have chosen to make their careers, their ability to portray another person both physically and in spirit.
From a hit-man for the mob to a cigarette smoking angel, Travolta has breathed life into an amazing list of roles that have become legends of film history. His instinctive talents that allow him to take words on the page and create dimensional characters is almost alchemy. A talent, not too different from Holland's own brand of magic. Holland's ability to embody with every pore of his artistic being the spirit of people both actual and fictitious, and capture their essence onto board with nothing more than brush and paint. This is what has made it all the more special that along with Holland's fantastic painting of Travolta... Travolta himself has chosen to sign this work as well.
A great work, signed by two incredible artists.
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