Artist Paints Gregg Allman Portrait Using Allman’s Blood
A portrait of Gregg Allman painted with the late rocker's own blood will be packaged with certain editions of his new album.
The painting, which you can see above, was commissioned from surrealist Vincent Castiglia, who used Allman's blood – as well as blood from Allman's children – in the work. The portrait is based on a photograph by Neal Preston and will be included in the deluxe edition and the initial run of vinyl copies of Southern Blood, the album Allman was working on when he died on May 27.
You can watch a time-lapse video of Castiglia working on the portrait via Yahoo.
Castiglia said he was approached by Allman in late 2015 to paint the album art for Southern Blood, which will be released on Friday. The artist stored vials of Allman's blood in his refrigerator for more than a year, starting work on the piece soon after Allman's death.
"This is the single most important work I've ever painted," Castiglia says in a news release. "When Gregg shipped me the vials of his blood, no one could have foreseen what was to come -- that ultimately the painting wouldn't be created until his after his passing. Painting Gregg's portrait in his and his children's blood, memorializing him posthumously, was one of the most emotively intense experiences."
Allman had completed most of the work on Southern Blood with his touring band and producer Don Was at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals before he died at age 69 from complications from liver cancer. The record marks his first album since 2011's Low Country Blues.
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