Most people know Paul Stanley as one of the co-founders of the iconic Rock Group KISS. And quite honestly, after 50 years of being the main front man and guitarist. It’s what people know. But some people may not know that the very talented and creative artist has more talent then what he does onstage.

Paul has been a painter for 20 years and tells me how he got started by saying, “I was going through a tough personal time. Being divorced is not something I recommend for anybody, although it can lead to something fabulous. But when you’re in the midst of it, it’s certainly tough. A friend of mine, my best friend said to me, ‘You should paint.’ That was very odd to me and caught me off guard. But when other people say, ‘Why?’ I tend to go, ‘Why not?’ I went out and bought paints and canvas and brushes and an easel, and I put newspaper on my floor and started painting.”

“At first, it was just purging and stream of consciousness with color and just letting myself do something other than screaming in the shower. It was cathartic and I worked my way into painting pieces that I liked enough to hang in the house. Most of the time, people would come into the house and ask me who did them. They weren’t signed because I was too self-conscious at that point to sign them. At some point, a gallery in Maui suggested that they do an exhibition and I was reluctant and hesitant. I did it and I was surprised and very gratified to find people taking my pieces home. That was 20 plus years ago, and this has grown into something far beyond anything I could ever have envisioned. It’s taken me personally to places of self-realization and self-knowledge. I never could have imagined, quite honestly.”

“To see other people who the art resonates with or to have people come in and think that they need an education, to have an opinion. I’m here to tell those people that the people who usually want you to listen to them are on salary and it’s self-serving. Your opinion is valid because it’s yours and liking something is what makes it good. Whether it’s food. Bad food, you spit it out. That’s how you know it’s bad. Good food is what you swallow and art is no different and music is no different. Film is no different. It’s all subjective and coming to a gallery is not a test. You’re not going to be graded and I’d like people to not only see what I’ve done, but maybe open their eyes to what they can do.”

I asked Paul what inspires him to paint and he said, “I don’t want to limit myself. I don’t want to have boundaries. I don’t want to restrict what I do. I don’t want to have a “style.” I’m not Picasso, although I love the idea that he said if he had to describe himself, he would describe himself as a painter without a style and I’d like to follow that at least in the sense that the only thing I want to be consistent in my work is finding a means to express myself. That one piece has little to do with the next, to me it is a healthy sign. I’m not trying to be perfect, anything more than a outlook of how I see things, and that for the most part means vibrant color. I think life is a gift. I think it’s a miracle, and I tend to view it very colorfully.”

Paul’s new collection is called the black series and he explains what that means. He states, “Most of the time people paint on white canvas. That’s just the norm. You either prep a canvas with a gesso or some sort of primer, and the idea is that the canvas is white and let’s light through the color, in theory. I found a role of black canvas. I could have painted on the white side, but I love the black side. What I found is that the colors on a black canvas seem to emanate in the darkness and almost pulsate. There’s a moodiness to it and a power that I really connected to and loved the results. I just kept going and did a series of those. I’d like to think, although there are exceptions, there’s something for everybody and I also urge people, if for some reason you don’t like my art or don’t acquire a piece of my art, you can go home and paint. People are too limited by the barriers and the limitations and roadblocks that others set up for them. The last thing you want to do is be a detractor from your own creativity. There’s enough of those people around, don’t be one of them. If somebody says to me, ‘I don’t know. I can’t paint.’ I say, ‘What does that mean?’ Does that meant if you try to paint a portrait and it doesn’t look like you or it doesn’t even look like a person, does that make it bad? No. You need to get rid of those pre-conceived limitations and just do what pleases you, and you’ll learn things about yourself.” It’s easy to find people who will tell you what’s good and bad or impossible. The ones who tell you what is impossible usually mean that they failed. I’m here to cheerlead for everybody.”

Paul is preparing for KISS’s “End Of The Road World Tour,” kicking off in Brazil April 12. I asked what kind of emotions and feelings is he having knowing the end of KISS touring is near. He said, “I think that it’s hard to really fathom it. I can intellectually make sense of it, but emotionally that’s going to be another facet that I don’t think I’m ready for. I think the last show, there’ll be a lot of tears and a lot of happiness and a lot of things that probably we’re in uncharted territory. I don’t know. I’m pretty good at articulating my thoughts, but that’s one that’s a little difficult. It’s a big part of who I am, but it’s not all that I am. There are people who, for as long as I can remember, have virtually been on tour and that’s because they have no life. That’s because they need salaried sicko fans around them to tell them how great they are and they have no family worth going home to. That’s not the case with me. It will be tough in some ways and it’ll be amazing in others. I’d like to think that I won’t wallow in the past because that takes you away from appreciating the present.”

I asked if he had a favorite painting and he replied, “No, not really. Certain paintings are kind of snapshots of certain periods of my life, but I’m most excited by what I’m doing lately. All the black series paintings were terrific and the last two paintings I did were both called ‘Quality Time Remaining,’ and they were really based on watching too many of my friends and people around me die in the last couple of years and it’s really a reminder. It says on the painting and another acronym that I try to live by, which is QTY. Quality Time Remaining. We’re only here for a finite amount of time and we need to make the most of it.”

Paul will have two art show gallery dates in Florida with Wentworth Gallery. The first is February 3rd from 7:00pm – 9pm at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL. And the following day, February 4th from 6pm-8pm at Town Center Mall in Boca Raton, FL. Paul Stanley will be in attendance for all dates. And if you can’t make it, they also have his gallery online at WentworthGallery.com