An Illustrated Tribute to Prince
Illustration by Dave McCaig

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Music

An Illustrated Tribute to Prince

A collection of illustrations by various artists to honor and pay tribute to the one, the only, Prince Rogers Nelson.

I've put together this blog of drawings and paintings to pay tribute to Prince Rogers Nelson. People grieve and mourn in their own ways. Being an artist, I've always processed pain and sadness by drawing the things that are on my mind. I've assembled some pieces by various illustrators done to honor him. It is my sincere hope that this will offer comfort to all who loved him.

Kristian Antonelli "All that I know is Prince has been my constant inspiration since I was 13."

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Rob Corradetti

"'Computer Blue' always stood out to me as one of Prince's weirder, more experimental tracks. The original live version had more lyrics, but the album version got cut down to one verse and extended guitar riffing. It feels to me like the sound of people from the future, all swiping and tapping on pictures of potential lovers in vain. The lyrics go 'Where is my love life? / Where can it be? / There must be something wrong with the machinery!' The song seems to embody the angst and frustration that comes with the quest for love in a cold world, while also shading the larger themes of isolation and spiritual evolution in Purple Rain. I love all of the futuristic, crystalline, spaced-out sounds that Prince gets into music. Until I find the righteous 1, Computer Blue."

Adam Villacin

"It's easy for people to see two distinct eras: Prince before God, and Prince after God. There were definitely a few constants that remained between the two eras, though. Prince was always a virtuoso musician and had an incredible ability for showmanship. He was also always woke. He was always a strong voice and powerful presence for the black community and I wanted to address that in this piece."

Maya Wild "For me and so many, Prince has always been a constant, guiding force of bold, thoughtful, completely bonkers energy, sexuality, and creativity. Kicking everyone's ass in this often dull, gray reality we call life. You either love him or hate him… and if you love him, you generally love the people who love him too. Nothing compares to Prince."

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Julia McGrady "Prince was the shit! I feel like I'm not cool enough to talk about him."

Aaron Dana

"No one did it better."

James Turek

"I wanted the drawing to reflect the maybe overlooked aspect of what lies behind his enormous star persona—a unique, playful, sensitive artist who probably spent countless hours alone in a studio. Take away the big major hits that made him a giant and think for a second on what kind of person could claim the color purple, dress like a musketeer on mushrooms, ride a motorcycle, piss off Tipper Gore, write "Batdance," and attend Record Store Day shortly before his death? A damn fine individual, whose death is nothing but a tragedy."

Nicholas Gazin

"I drew the cover to Dirty Mind, my favorite Prince record."

Perry Shall

"He was the most natural musician and performer around. He played guitar like it was nothing. It felt like a form of communication or something for him—like talking. I've always put him, MJ, and James Brown in my top three performers of all time list. Untouchable. Now he's with them or something."

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