David Bowie was a man of many talents but one too often overlooked was his work in the art world. The singer was a prolific painter and his work is a reflection as unique as Bowie himself

Many of you may know that Bowie was not only a wonderfully gifted singer/songwriter but also an incredibly talented mime artist, actor and artist. We wanted to take today’s sadness and offer up a reflection of Bowie from the man himself in some of his painted self-portraits.

We’ve chosen to look at his self-portraits as opposed to his other work as we wanted to look through the eyes of Bowie at himself. True, self-portraits can often lean on the side of narcissism but they also offer a candid view into the artist if they permit it.

In this instance, Bowie does allow the audience to view him in a more stripped back and vulnerable way in these paintings. He’s offering us the chance to see the man who made his name as rock’s chameleon suddenly without his camouflage.

The images are very striking indeed. Given to you below in chronological order we see not only interpretations of famous Bowie albums but also a deep an unapologetic use of Neo-Expressionism as Bowie looked to convey his always whirring creative mind’s eye view of himself.

Textured and deliberate, David Bowie is a fine author on the canvas as he was with his music. Mixing across different styles and expressions, Bowie shows himself as a proficient painter and wonderful storyteller, even with the brushstrokes of his self-portraits.

Please visit this incredible site which has all of the great man’s paintings in one place dating way back to the 1950s.

(All images via Aural Crave)