Editor’s note: There are an untold number of unknown artists living in Colorado, creators who can’t (or don’t want to) get into galleries and rely on word of mouth, luck or social media to make a living. You’ve probably seen them on Instagram, at festivals or at art fairs in small towns. In this occasional series Through the Lens you will meet some of these artists.
The last time you saw a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater, chances are that live music artist Keith “Scramble” Campbell was there, painting a 3-foot-by-3-foot abstract acrylic artwork of the band you came to see.
Campbell is a fixture at the venue and has created more than 630 live paintings since his debut there in 2000, when he painted the band Widespread Panic. Immersed in the rhythm of the music, the artist moves to the beat and uses his brush as an instrument to capture the vibrant spirit and energy of the performance on his canvas.
Inspired at an early age by the New York graffiti artists Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, as well as the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí, he found his calling in emulating the American speed painter Denny Dent, known for creating large-scale canvases of 2.5 meters high. of musicians in just 10 minutes, often at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. He says the discovery of live music painting transformed his life and strengthened his path as an artist.
“It seems easier to tell you which artists I haven’t painted than which artists I have,” he said recently. “I have painted more than 1,000 live shows and 4,000 canvases in my career. It’s a lifetime of going to shows all over the world. It’s not just Red Rocks. If it’s live music, I’ll paint it.
Question: Where does your name come from?
A: I was a speed roller skater in the 1970s and 1980s. I had a friend who called me Scramble because of the way I clambered around the rink. Early on I was strongly influenced by artists Andy Warhol, Bob Ross, LeRoy Neiman and Dalí. When I decided to make art my career, I felt like all the influences of these artists were like an alphabet soup of names, a tangle of influences on me. I decided that Scramble would be an appropriate name for me. (I also thought it sounded much more creative than Keith and that it rhymed with Campbell.)
Q: Can you give us a brief history of how you became an artist?
A: When I was in seventh grade, I wanted to quit school because I knew I wanted to be an artist. Fortunately, my mother convinced me that it was wise to stay in school.
In the late ’80s, New York City was deep into rave culture and the graffiti scene with emerging artists like Haring, Warhol and Basquiat. They showed their work through nightclubs and public art. They painted paintings on walls, in the subways and on the streets, bringing art directly to the people. I was captivated by their work.
In 1991 I answered an advertisement looking for a visual artist to paint live at a music festival. The man who placed the ad was Perry Farrell, of Jane’s Addiction. The music festival was Lollapalooza.
When I got the job it felt like the start of my career. I have had so many rejections over the years when trying to get into galleries and art shows. When I made the crossover from the art world to the music world, I really discovered my path as an artist.
Throughout the ’90s I attended music festivals such as the New Orleans Jazz Festival, Lollapalooza, the HOARD Festival, Bonnaroo, Woodstock ’94, the Lilith Fair, and even the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. I have painted Widespread Panic 170 times.
Question: What kind of artist are you?
A: At heart, I am truly a musician with a paintbrush. My instruments are my canvases, brushes and paint.
I like to think of myself as a conduit for music, transforming their energy and music into a dance on canvas.
As a live artist, my paintings reflect the concert. I let the music and the environment determine how I paint. If it’s windy and the music is hardcore, my paintings will reflect that. I paint fast and furiously, making the work look abstract and impressionistic. I dance and move to the music while I paint. If there’s a slower song in between, that’s the time I take to fill in the details. The musicians, the weather, the people all play a role in the painting I make. I’m trying to tell a story about that night. When it rains or winds, I add that to my paintings. If there’s a rainbow, I’ll put it in there. I capture the entire night on one canvas.
Q: What type of music do you like to paint to, and do you specifically stay within a specific genre?
A: I don’t stick to one genre. I’ve painted over 1,000 different bands and 4,000 canvases, from jam bands like Widespread Panic and Leftover Salmon to emerging Christian rock bands. Next month I will be painting King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, an Australian rock band. I’ve had the opportunity to paint jazz legends Fats Domino, BB King, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. I have painted Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Prince and other legends such as Diana Ross, Melissa Etheridge, Carlos Santana, Blues Traveler, Lady Gaga with Tony Bennett, Johnny Winter and Tom Petty.
It seems easier to tell you which artists I haven’t painted than which artists I have.
Q: How did you end up becoming Red Rocks’ artist-in-residence?
A: After a show in Florida, Widespread Panic’s drummer, Todd Nance, traded a summer tour pass for a painting I made of the band. I ended up at my first Red Rocks show where the band played in June 2000. It was love at first sight when I did that show.
Since then I have created over 630 paintings at Red Rocks. I buy my own tickets and pay for every concert I go to. Red Rocks doesn’t pay me to be there, but they do give me space to paint.
Q: Do you remember the first work of art you ever got paid for?
A: It was 1987, at one of my first group shows in a mall, where I sold a drawing by Joey Ramone. It was a studio piece before I was a live music performer. I think I’ve always been a music artist. even from the beginning.
Q: Where can we see your art?
A: On my website (scramblecampbell.com), but I invite people to come see me live in row 23 at Red Rocks. I also have small paintings, postcards, magnets and other items for sale at the Red Rocks Trading Post.
Q: Do you have a favorite work of art?
A: I did a painting of Lou Reed in 1998 in Bethel, NY, on the original Woodstock site for the 29th anniversary of the original Woodstock. I got to talk to him and then meet him and he signed the back of my painting. There are also paintings I have done of legendary musicians, such as BB King and Fats Domino, who have since passed away. All these paintings I love and will never sell.
Q: What memorable reactions have you had to your work?
A: I showed David Crosby a painting I had just done of him and he said, “Not bad for speed painting.” Another time when I showed my painting to James Brown, he said, “Son, I want to thank you for coming and painting my portrait.” He signed the entire back of the painting and said, ‘I feel good. Jacobus Brown.”
Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
A: In my mid-twenties I wrote a letter to the famous graffiti artist Keith Haring asking for advice. He had a great influence on me then. He even wrote me back and said, “I’m not good at giving advice. All I can say is do what you want to do and find a way to do it as often as you want. There is no ‘answer’ that is the same for everyone. You have to find your own direction.” I have since followed that advice.
Q: What advice would you give aspiring artists?
A: Try to go your own way and make your own art. Don’t make art for someone else, do it for yourself.
Q: Describe your dream project.
A: Next season will be my 25th at Red Rocks. I would really like to make a book in which I tell more about my experiences during the hundreds of concerts and about the thousands of artists I have painted. I feel like I have already illustrated the book with my paintings. It just hasn’t been written down yet. There are so many stories that fit the artists I have painted. I want to be able to tell those stories. It’s 25 years of jazz festivities, 25 years of Red Rocks, 35 years of live painting. I would like to tell those stories.
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