LOS ANGELES (AP) – If you haven’t seen one of Peter Max’s paintings or drawings today, chances are you haven’t opened your eyes yet.
Since he charged onto the pop-art stage a half-century ago, the progenitor of psychedelic art has stamped his creative presence on practically everything from the sides of an airliner and the hull of a Norwegian Cruise Lines ship to commemorative U.S. postage stamps and, most lately, an endless string of art galleries.
He shows up at the latter about every weekend to sign paintings for which people pay anywhere from five to six figures. He’ll even throw in a little bonus drawing on the back for someone who takes the time to come up and say hi.
When he’s not doing that, this exuberant, seemingly tireless 77-year-old child of the ’60s keeps busy in his New York studio, cranking out more wildly colorful paintings in a style merging the realism of Norman Rockwell with the pop-art sensibilities of Ed Ruscha and Andy Warhol.
He says he paints and draws every day, sometimes cranking out his most recognizable works over and over again.