Elvis Presley 1976

LeRoy Neiman made this painting of Elvis Presley sometime around 1976, we can tell from the signature. He’s gone for something bold and kind of brash, like Elvis, using oil paint, but really thinly and directly, like a watercolor effect. Look at the way Neiman slaps those colors down, all bright and punchy. He doesn’t blend; instead, the colors vibrate against each other, making your eyes dance like Elvis’s hips. The white suit gets a life of its own, speckled with confetti dots, like a party broke out on his chest. The guitar is rendered in these chunky blocks of yellow and blue, but it still sings. The whole composition feels like you are there, caught in the swirl of the music, the lights, and the energy of the King himself. There's something about this energetic, slightly chaotic style that reminds me of Joan Mitchell’s landscapes. There’s a similar sense of trying to capture something fleeting, something that's always moving, always transforming.