Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Neal Hamilton is among the foremost music painters in the area and in the country. After attending Cuyahoga Community College, Hamilton began his career as a technical illustrator on Broadway, although he later moved to the field of graphic design. In this area, he became the president of Livewire Studios, creating designs for high-profile companies, such as American Greetings and Goodyear. He also forayed into the field of photography, where he was equally successful – he has been the official photographer of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum since 1996.

Through all this, Hamilton always felt the pull of painting, a favorite medium for him. After a devastating house fire that destroyed most of his art, he returned to painting; specifically, he began his “Paint out Loud” series, a collection of musically inspired paintings and portraits of famous musicians. Among these paintings are portraits of Sting, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, Madonna, Prince, Ray Charles, Bob Marley, and Miles Davis. What makes Hamilton’s work stand out from any other is the passionate, wild depiction of these artists – he used half-used cans of house paint, trowels, knives, and other unusual instruments to create these masterpieces. As he explains it, “Just as rock-n-roll music is wild, passionate and over-the-edge, so is my approach to painting portraits of my rock heroes.”

This passion is easily noticeable in his completed works of art. Hamilton often plays the musicians’ music while he paints them to help channel their personalities, and this method shows in the end result. The paintings are intense and perceptive, with life and expression in all the subjects and eyes that stare back at the viewers, pulling them into the painting, the experience, and the music. This is Neal Hamilton’s goal, as he says, “Hear the music in my visuals, because I paint out loud.”