ARTIST’S DELIVERY SERVICE TO STAR WAS JUST OUT OF THIS WORLD
A GOLD Coast artist who sold a painting to US comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan has delivered it to his secret Los Angeles compound.
Joel Rea, of Tallebudgera, who specialises in surrealism and has a large social media following with 300,000-plus Instagram fans, said it had been a thrill to visit.
Mr Rogan, whose The Joe Rogan Experience is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with guests including Elon Musk, Mike Tyson and Jamie Foxx, keeps his studio address secret.
But after shelling out $28,000 for a Rea artwork, Mr Rogan invited him to tour his base which has a Mixed Martial Arts training gym, sauna, computer games room, and pop art collection.
Mr Rea, 36, visited two weeks ago and said he was “totally stoked” when Mr Rogan gave him an invite.
“We DM (direct message) each other (on Instagram) and he’s always giving me compliments,” Mr Rea said.
“I posted a new painting and it must have had something that he connected with. I said to him I’d love to see the studio and meet him in person and he said ‘Why not’.”
Mr Rea, an awardwinning artist who has had a residency in New York, was inspired to paint the work after listening to a Rogan podcast with Musk. Mr Rea worked on it 60 hours a week for five weeks.
Mr Rogan plans to hang it in his studio, Mr Rea said.