January 4, 2018

Elvis in Charcoal #164, The movies #27, Speedway

By Rob de Vries Elvis in charcoal, Movie, Work in progress 0 Comments

I started on the first Elvis in Charcoal drawing for this year. Another one in the Movies series, Speedway.

Speedway is the 27th Elvis movie and released in 1968.
Elvis Presley sings his way around the race circuit as successful speedway driver Steve Grayson. All is fine and dandy until the tax return submitted by a wise-cracking Bill Bixby (as Steve’s manager) is scrutinised by the IRS. Will Elvis be able to raise the $145,000 to pay his tax bill? Will he succeed with his advances to IRS inspector Nancy Sinatra?

Elvis in Charcoal #164, The Movies #27, Speedway
Charcoal, ink colored pencil and White chalk on colored paper,
30 x 20 cm, 2017.

Available
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Tags:1968, Art, Chalk, Charcoal, Colored paper, Drawing, Elvis, Elvis art, Elvis Presley, portrait, series, Sixties, Speedway

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robdevries

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The beginning
I remember well. It was the summer of 1973 or 1974, we were on vacation with my aunt and uncle. For two weeks my uncle constantly sang the first lines of “Blue suede shoes”.
I asked him what that was and he told me it was an Elvis Presley song. Back in Amsterdam I immediately went to the record store and bought the LP “Elvis’ Golden Records Volume 1”. “Blue suede shoes” wasn’t on it, but I was immediately sold.
After that, all my pocket money went to Elvis records, books and related things.

In the meantime
A few years later I also started drawing and painting Elvis portraits. Of the countless I had made, only three have survived, and that’s only because they hung on my mother’s wall.
Once I grew up, my interest in Elvis waned somewhat. I was still a fan but not so fanatical that I bought everything I could find. That changed in 2007 when we went on vacation to Colorado in the US. In the three weeks we were there we took a domestic flight to Memphis to visit Graceland. That was an unforgettable event after which the Elvis virus struck again in full force.
Back in the Netherlands I restarted making Elvis portraits and collecting books and vinyl.

And now, a portrait of Elvis (almost) every week
Since that visit to Graceland I have been making a portrait of Elvis (almost) weekly using charcoal, ink and white chalk on colored paper. Most of these are sold. Mostly through Facebook and Instagram. In 2022 I hope to make the 300th Elvis in Charcoal drawing.
I also work on commission, your favorite Elvis photo as a drawing or painting. There are even regular customers who already own more than twenty of my Elvis artworks.
My Elvis portraits hang on people’s walls all over the world. A.O. in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Norway, Ireland, England, Italy, Australia, Scotland and the United States.