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Artist Joe Petruccio and his love for “The King”

Artist Joe Petruccio and his love for “The King”

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Illustrator makes the most of his time at Elvis Week, celebrates Presley’s legacy through works

news@theeveningtimes.com

Elvis Presley touched the lives of millions of people through his music. But for artist Joe Petruccio, Elvis — and Elvis fans — literally changed the course of his life.

Petruccio, a Brooklyn- born artist, has been the official artist of Graceland since 2003. His paintings of the King of Rock n’ Roll command top dollar today and are prized by fans all over the world.

But ironically, Petruccio never imagined that he would one day make a living professionally drawing Elvis Presley.

“I was always an Elvis fan,” Petruccio said. “So I always drew Elvis. But I never intended to sell any of them because I wasn’t selling my art professionally. I wanted to be an illustrator when I got out of college.”

Petruccio began drawing at an early age and developed a love of all things pop culture, especially Elvis Presley.

“I used to watch him on the Ed Sullivan Show as a kid,” Petruccio said. “I just loved the charisma of him.

Then I loved his movies.

Then I just loved following him and his music. I loved the sound. It was different from anything else I ever heard.”

After graduating from the School for Visual Arts in New York, Petruccio landed a job in advertising in Manhattan doing things like storyboards. He never truly stopped wanting to be an illustrator, but it never happened. Instead, he kept getting promoted and rose up through the advertising ranks.

He mostly painted and drew as a hobby. One day, he showed a painting he had done of Elvis to a friend at work who suggested that he put it online.

In 2003 he joined the Elvis Insiders, a fan site for Elvis collectors, in the hopes that he might spot an item or two of his favorite singer that he just had to have.

He started posting his Elvis paintings on the fansite and before he knew it, he was getting e-mails from people wanting to buy them.

While flattered that people liked his work and wanted to buy them, Petruccio turned down all requests.

The last thing he wanted to do was get in to legal hotwater with Graceland over using Elvis’s likeness.

But then one day he got an email from Graceland and Elvis Presley Enterprises asking about his paintings and wanting to know if they were sale.

“People were writing to Graceland asking about me,” Petruccio said. “I thought at first I was in trouble and was going to be sued for putting my pictures on the website. But as it turns out, I wasn’t. They wanted to see more. So I sent them some samples.

They liked my work and asked me ‘how would I like to be the first official artist for Elvis Presley Enterprises?’ I said ‘okay,’ and jumped at that. That was probably one of the greatest days of my life as far as being an artist.”

Petruccio said he never even met the people that he was dealing with at Elvis Presley Enterprises until much later.

“The contract was all done by email,” Petruccio said.

His first assignment from Graceland was to do a poster for Elvis Week in 2003.

Since then, Graceland has licensed his work on everything from post cards to mugs to t-shirts.

His most popular Elvis piece is called “Memphis Son” which he painted for Graceland as the official portrait for the 50th anniversary of Rock n’ Roll in 2004.

“That’s probably the most important piece that I have done for them,” Petruccio said.

His work as the official artist for Graceland led him to other commissions for Muhammed Ali, Frank Sinatra, and the Hard Rock Café. He also worked with MGM and Sylvester Stallone in 2006 on a series of paintings to commemorate the 30th anniversary of “Rocky,” one of his favorite movies.

“It has all come as a result of my Elvis work,” Petruccio said.

Petruccio said he gets his ideas for his Elvis paintings by imagining moments from Elvis’s life. He uses a face or a gesture then creates an image that doesn’t exist in any photograph of Elvis.

“That’s what I think Graceland likes about my work,” Petruccio said. “I bring a fresh life to Elvis. I try and take moments of his life that personally touch me.

I paint for myself and coming from the point of view of a fan. A lot of my work is very colorful. But I don’t use more than three or four colors in any painting I do.

A lot of my work doesn’t have a lot of action to it.”

Petruccio said there is a lonely side to Elvis and a quieter side that he likes to capture.

“When he is on stage, I feel there is a loneliness in those moments where he will say ‘play it, James,’ and put his head back,” Petruccio said. “I think when he does that and the audience focuses on James Burton’s guitar, I think he is more alone with himself than he is at Graceland in his house alone. I think there is a peace he found on stage and I try and properly portray that and more of those kinds of moments.”

Petruccio is a fan favorite at Elvis Week and gladly draws Elvis sketches for fans regardless of whether they buy something.

He said Elvis fans are the nicest and friendliest fans in the world and he is forever grateful for the love they show him and most importantly, for pointing him in a different career direction.

“I sign for the fans because I really love Elvis,” Petruccio said. “For me, this is like a homecoming. I get to see people who I haven’t seen for the last 20 years. And then I get to meet new people that I hope to meet again for another 20 years. So it’s a great thing. Elvis is like a family. It is a lifestyle.

That’s why there is nobody like Elvis. I love this. It is a part of my life now and I can’t imagine my life without Graceland and all my family here at Elvis Week.”

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