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| Neal painting with Big Sam's Funky Nation |
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| Neal with Cast of Clowns |
The crowd cheers as the musicians take their place on the stage. The lights dim…. BAM! There’s the beat of the drums followed by the THUMP! of a bass, and finally the moans and groans of the human voice as a cacophony of sound floods the room. On the sideline, a new breed of “Rock Star” takes his place and ignites his creative fire. His instruments are not the customary rock star tools, oh no. His instruments are not purchased at Bananas at Large or Guitar Center. To find this man’s creative instruments you’d be better off visiting an art supply store, for his tools include paint, brushes and canvas. This man’s name is Neal Barbosa and he paints like a madman amid the flood of sound coming from the stage as live music is his muse.“There is an interchange of creativity onstage,” says Neal of his place with the bands. “Some musicians have told me that they have done the same song over and over but were inspired to put a creative twist on the song in the moment after they look over and see how every note flowed through my arms to my hands and is then transformed through the paintbrush onto the canvas.”
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| Neal painting at Hopmonk Tavern |
Hailing from Southern California and now residing in Sonoma County, Neal is a man who takes his art seriously. Beginning at 9, he started to explore sketching and drawing as a method of express his creativity. By 16 he was painting. Over the years he has utilized music and the art of Stanley Mouse to inspire his style and love of the acrylics. Of his friendship with Stanley Mouse, “I have kinda gone off in my own direction and developed my own unique style, however Stanley has inspired me to do some nude figure drawing and painting from nude models posing. Our relationship mostly revolves around art and projects and painting live when there is music around. I recently invited Stanley to paint at the Fillmore in SF and he invited me to show some of my art at The Rockin’ Roses Gallery in Healdsburg.
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| Painted with Gabby LaLa |
With many drastic changes in the music industry has changed over the years, there are no longer behemoth music companies churning out records and creating over-hyped stars of little talent. More and more bands are touring much of the year and gigging at large events or festivals to make a living and get their name and music out to the masses. Along these lines, musical events and gigs are becoming more vibrant and vaudeville-like than ever before. Bands or venues are taking things to a new level of spectacle where performance artists, fire dancers, jugglers and costumed characters often participate in the performance with the musicians.
Neal Barbosa has taken this multi-tiered approach to entertainment and used his talent as part of a whole new wave of true performance art. He is ready to take his inspirational talent to a new level in the face of the ever-changing music business. Through guerilla marketing, hard networking and shameless self-promotion (is any self-promotion really shameless anymore?) via social networking sites and D-I-Y online art galleries, he has sold his art and achieved notice for his name.
There are many events in Neal’s life that are destined to make him a star. Neal is the subject of a documentary film being made about his painting and his live performances onstage. He has traveled to LA & Finland to be a part of the filming of “Acrylic Groove” with is pal, filmmaker Steve Gatlin. Weaving interviews and film footage of his Live Painter performances over the last 5 years with bands such as LA’s Shiny Toy Guns as well as Les Claypool, Neal is thrilled about the spotlight on his work, “Its exiting for me because this is what I dreamed of in order to share the experience of Live Painting with the everyone, as well as to inspire young and old to create and maybe work up the boldness to express themselves for the whole world to enjoy”
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Painted at The Artista Gang's JoyFest |
His talent as a performance painter has grabbed the notice of many national musical acts and he has recently painted live with Richard Thompson at the famed Fillmore in San Francisco, Cast of Clowns as well as Big Sam's Funky nation. He has
He has and impressive resume of coveted gigs with high profile bands such as the punk/jazz trio The Dead Kenny G’s (“this is exactly the kind of music I love to paint to. Nothing boring about them and they are the most accomplished musicians I have ever heard or will ever hear in my whole life or will ever paint to again”), goofball rockers Forrest Day (“Unforgettable really! I was relating with their songs and never wanting to set my paint brushes down during any song.”) and The Red Paintings from Australia (“I went on a small tour with them and it was so great to paint to, man what talent! Full-on theatrical experience, octopus costumes, Japanese garb, cello player, violin, guitar, bass, piano, ray guns, live body painters, live performance painter, and some awe inspiring music!”).
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| Painted during The Red Paintings 2008 Tour |
Finding something that works with one’s creativity is an amazing feat. Neal Barbosa takes his desire to paint and makes it more than the sum of it’s creative parts. “I'm still learning all the time how to work with musicians on stage and what not to do when in front of the audience and the camera. But I love it, its like being in an artistic bubble. Some times I am channeling what the musicians are doing or singing about and it just flows through my arms and out my paint brushes, kinda like when I’m making love. I’m totally in the moment enjoying every second, every drop of pleasure and forgetting about everything, just creating totally in the moment like a butterfly flying through the brisk smooth clean air during sunrise near the ocean on a late winter morning. With out a care in the world.”
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| Painted during Used Blues Band |
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| From Dirty Dozen Brass Band gig |
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Painted during John Mooney
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| Painted during Floydian Slip |
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| MOONMAMA loves you! |
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