Description: TITLE: Elvis’ Alter Ego came Out One Night(hand painted across the bottom lip of the frame) I am honored to have thousands of collectors own my work across the globe.I also have several well known actors, film-makers, musicians and professional athlete collectors.A partial list includes: Julia Roberts, Jimmy Vaughan,Willie Nelson,Muhammad Aliand Tim Burton. for more information please see:katabillups.com ARTIST'S DESCRIPTION OF PAINTING: Much of my Elvis work is partially autobiographic in some odd way. A theme I'd been pondering when I created this piece was the many types of "selves" I had. I was invited to a friend's birthday party and hesitated to go. I didn't like to hang out with her. She always tried to sell me her artwork;taking over ten minutes describing every piece in a series of over seventy. No matter how many times I attempted to change the conversation it never worked. But upon further consideration I recalled many good points I'd noted about her over the years and forced myself out the door to her party. It turned out to be kindof fun!. So, how could I have such different "selves" inside me; I wondered.... In my next work of art I imagined Elvis alone in a motel roommeeting a part of himself he'd never seen before.... It was past midnight and he was in a motel room somewhere on the road.Another tour in a line of endless tours. He sees the wood paneled walls, dusty drapes, carpet worn down by snow, sand and spills, and a nightstand beside his bed with a Gideon Bible atop. Some beds had the vibrating feature in that time. Some rooms had color T.V.'s Elvis hears a scuffle outside and the door knob turns back and forth on its own. The door creaks open and he pulls the covers up around his head. A shadow lengthens across the dirty green shag carpeting. Suddenly he notices a rustling at the foot of his bed and he flounders around in the dark to find the lamp on the nightstand. The light blasts away the shadows but still he grips the covers around him (as if they will help protect him). It's a primal, little-boy move. Then cautiously peeking over the edge of the blanket, Elvis sees an onion headed character in a tiny jumpsuit wearing a long cape! The character swings around in a cape and starts to perform; strangely unconscious of Elvis’ presence in the room…. The influence of Colonel Parker on Elvis was pretty well documented. Evidently the Colonel forced Elvis to make the cheesy films. Some say Elvis would have gone further in his career without the homegrown Parker. This makes me wonder- whose idea was the cape? …and the jumpsuits? Did Elvis have tons of internal conflict as we all do? Probably.... In transposing Elvis on top of my own musings I decided to create an alter ego for him that only came out at night and played his guitar and wore a cape and loved the spotlight. Why? I think part of Elvis abhorred the spotlight, was a shy gospel song loving country boy at heart - who loved shaking hands and meeting the fans but hated becoming an idol. NOTE: about my HOWARD Finster CONNECTION: I had a joint show with the late great Reverend Howard shortly before he died. Some of my folk styled work is influenced by him- not only stylistically but by virtue of the fact that he was (to me) the ultimate preacher/painter. Howard often took common recognizable objects (like his giant coke bottle piece) and plastered the image with Bible sayings. Almost as if he were a naive forerunner of subliminal influences in art and culture. the second to last pic. is of me and Howard around 1998 at our joint show shortly before his death. DIMENSIONS OF WORK:This piece is 27" high and 31" across and 5" deep (in its frame) This piece (as all others) will be shipped with the correcthanging apparatus on back. It is category 3. CATEGORIES OF WORK:(listed in order by price and rarity) 1. PRIMARY ORIGINALS These are the most time-consuming, most expensive and generally the largest in scale of my works. They are owned by hundreds of Private Individuals and many Museums worldwide. One Primary Original work of art can take weeks, months or even years to create. For decades I created an average of five to twenty pieces of this large, time-consuming type work per year. I am taking a break from creating them to build up a new category of work (see 5. below), work on writing and publishing some of my books and pursing spiritual goals. 2. VERSIONS OF WORK These are generally the second most time-consuming and expensive of my worksand are owned by hundreds of individuals across the world. They are entirely hand-painted VERSIONS of certain Primary Original Paintings some which have sold and some have not). The demand for them arose when Patrons admired some of my previously sold PRIMARY ORIGINAL pieces and wanted something similar but not necessarily as expensive. They are similar to but in no way identical to the PRIMARY ORIGINALS after which they take their inspiration. They are also not merely a re-painting of my PRIMARY ORIGINALS because each one contains new artistic- discoveries. For instance, I am often inspired to rework or add characters furnishings colors etc. (in ways that never occurred in the PRIMARY ORIGINALS). I typically spent two to five weeks on each piece. I say spent because I am no longer creating works in this category. They sometimes (but not always) have unique frames which I embellished with one-of-a-kind mattes and vintage objects de' art and unusual titles. They are framed in many ways; (simplyornately, or were painted on gallery wrap canvas or on furniture; which requires no frame). All these pieces are ethically technically legally (and in every way) Original Paintings. I generally created around five to ten pieces of this category of work per year but as I said, am not now. I have phased this category of work out entirely. 3. REPLICA ORIGINALS These were typically the third most time consuming type of work (and third most expensive)and are owned by thousands of people across the globe. They are are similar to my VERSIONS of WORK (see category 2. above) with some important exceptions. First of all, as mentioned above, I created more of them than of category 2. Secondly, they were as close to being identical to the PRIMARY ORIGINALS as possible (had no new creative developments within them with the important exception of the frames which were often very unusual or elaborate and embellished with one-of-a-kind mattes and vintage objects de' art and unusual titles). They were painted on a variety of surfaces (wood, canvas, mirrors, small furniture and other materials). They were entirely hand-painted REPLICAS of some of my favorite PRIMARY ORIGINALS. These pieces generally required days or sometimes weeks to complete. They are legally and ethically also Original Paintings in their own right. I generally created between fifty to couple or few hundred of these per year, but began phasing them out entirelyin 2022. I will not be creating any more work in this category, but I may continue working on some older ones which I never finished (if I am inspired to do at some later time). 4. SMALL GALLERY WRAP CANVAS REPLICA ORIGINALS This was a new category- (created in 2021). I originally created less than 50 of theseand will never create any more. For more on REPLICA ORIGINALS see 3 above. Gallery wrap canvases are designed to be painted on all four sides (external edges) and are designed to be hung without frames in order for the viewer to appreciate the unique dimensional effect in viewing the art as it 'wraps around' continuing on the sides of the canvas. Naturally, I provide proper hanging apparatus on back. 5. 2nd STYLE REPLICA ORIGINAL PAINTINGS (ENHANCED with PARTIAL HAND-PAINTING, ANTIQUE CUSTOM FRAMES, ETC.)New to the market near the beginning of 2023, this type of work is similar to my REPLICA ORIGINAL works but less expensive. Like my VERSIONS OF WORK, I've added new elements.In some, I was inspired to use parts of my own photographs and digitally 'collage' them into the scene to change the meaning from that of the PRIMARY ORIGINAL. For example, in my work entitled : Bob Dylan Studies the Big BIZ-NESS Show, The PRIMARY ORIGINAL leaves the specific big biz-ness inferred up to the viewer's imagination. In this new type of work I was inspired to add Fauci (and other contemporary symbols of Big Pharma). I spent a considerable amount of time revising the background to capture my current sentiment. There's a woman on stage who is in a magicians' box (being cut apart)- and I printed the words 'non-essential workers' on the side of her box. This new type of work is extremely enjoyable for me as it allows me endless opportunities to re-express myself (beyond the original inspiration for pieces which may have been created decades ago) Each piece is initially printed (using incredibly expensive state of the art equipment for maximum resolution, color, etc.) I've sourced a unique material to print the work which achieves maximum light-fastness and durability. The hand painting; (although partial), makes the pieces more affordable. Also due to my hand painting on each work in this category, the collector is purchasing an ORIGINAL work of art technically, legally, ethically and in every way. This has been established in courts of law. It is also why early on in my rock and roll icon art business I stopped creating pieces that were simply framed prints (even though some of my early collectors like Julia Roberts owns a few pieces of my framed prints. I wanted my collectors (after about the year 2000) to not be able to purchase framed prints, but more unique and valuable pieces. So, you may ask about the LAST category of work: why am I selling signed PRINTS again? I've been doing so for a little over a year to give people a lower priced option (since my work has appreciated) I will selling signed prints once my new category 5. of work is up and running. 6. SIGNED PRINTS KATA's prints are produced on extra heavy card stock paper with a gloss finish using the most expensive state of the art equipment. Each one is signed and dated.
Price: 2255 USD
Location: Cadiz, Kentucky
End Time: 2023-11-21T23:29:15.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 14 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Unit of Sale: Single-Piece Work
Signed By: kata billups
Size: Medium (up to 36in.)
Signed: Yes
Date of Creation: 2000-Now
Period: Contemporary (1970 - 2020)
Material: Acrylic, Canvas
Region of Origin: US
Framing: Framed
Subject: Billboard, Celebrities, Costumes, Country Shows, Cowboy, Fairies, Figures, Hotels & Restaurants, Humor, Love, Men, Musical Bands & Groups, Musical Instruments, Novelty, On the Road
Type: Painting
Listed By: Artist
Signed?: Signed
Year of Production: 2019
Original/Licensed Reproduction: Original
Style: Assemblage, Contemporary Art, Figurative Art, Folk Art, Impressionism, Modernism, Pop Art, Portraiture, Realism
Painting Surface: Canvas
Original/Reproduction: Original
Theme: Americana, Cities & Towns, Music, People, Travel & Transportation
Features: Framed, Signed
Production Technique: Acrylic Painting
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Handmade: Yes
Time Period Produced: 2010-2019
