‘Elvis’ portraits to aid patients
A WELSH artist who painted the Queen and television royalty Dame Barbara Windsor has turned his attention to tribute acts who tour the world impersonating the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Dan Llywelyn Hall has painted some of the most celebrated Elvis Presley tribute artists to mark the 40th anniversary of the Memphis singer’s death this month.
The artist, whose expressionist-style painting of the Queen marking the 60th anniversary of the Coronation generated strong views among many in 2013, said the tribute acts provided a rich subject for portraits.
He added that the challenge was in “trying to decipher the individual characters that sit beneath these costumes”.
The 15 portraits of performers from as far afield as Mexico and Lithuania will be exhibited at the Elvis festival in Porthcawl next month.
The festival, which attracts up to 35,000 fans and generates millions of pounds for the local economy, is in its 14th year and will play host to 150 tribute acts from September 22-24.
Mr Llywelyn Hall met his subjects in April during the Welsh event’s sister festival, the Benidorm Elvis Fiesta, sketching them backstage between performances.
He said: “I suddenly realised that all of these guys have an absolutely unique stance on Elvis and over the course of their careers they have sort of carved out these different causes.
“They all have different approaches; some of them work in rehabilitation centres, they go around homes for the elderly and perform and they see that these people completely spring to life.
“So there is a subculture which has gone on surrounding Elvis which has now grown into something else, which I found the most fascinating thing.”
The portraits, which will also be reproduced in a book to be released at the festival, are being auctioned off in aid of an appeal set up by festival organiser Peter Phillips.
Mr Phillips, who describes himself as an Elvis fan “but probably not as big a fan” as some he has met over the last 14 years, is aiming to set up a foun- dation to fund live performances of Elvis tribute acts in nursing homes.
He said: “People have known for years that music therapy works very well with dementia. It is just Elvis resonates that much more, because if you think about it, Elvis would have been in his eighties now so people in their eighties have a much longer track record of living with Elvis.
“We know that Elvis’ music works well in care homes specialising in dementia and a lot of them put it on, but with local authority cutbacks over the last few years, the budgets aren’t there to give live entertainment to the patients.”
Mr Phillips said the festival was “quite bonkers” and “overwhelms” Porthcawl, as people dressed as the King descend on it, all to see the tribute acts perform live.
Mr Llywelyn Hall added: “You have got this pop icon, 40 years on from his death, you have got all these hundreds of people who impersonate him and this little community which exists. They all know each other, they all hang out with each other and on top of that you have this thing where they all believe that Elvis can be a force for good in the community.”
The auction runs to September 25 with information available from www.danlhall.com