by Alyse Horn

LeHoop with “Beyond Beyond” from this year’s Musikfest

He’s been called the Rock n’ Roll Jackson Pollock, and rightfully so. Georgie LeHoop, a drum artist from Saint Clair, PA, is known for his unique style of painting that consists of dipping his drumsticks in paint and “playing on canvas.” LeHoop says it can take him anywhere from 20 minutes to a few hours to complete a painting, as some of his works include a lot of thick and heavy paint and using drumsticks to apply colors is far different than using a brush.

Of course, with a style like this, things can get messy. LeHoop works mostly in his basement, but when he is touring at different festivals he is sometimes able to perform live demonstrations. “A lot of festivals don’t let me because it gets messy, so in those cases I have a DVD playing showing how [I create a painting],” LeHoop says.

LeHoop has currently been touring for 28 weeks across the country to share his work- Florida, Texas, Arizona and Connecticut to name a few. Currently, LeHoop just recently had his first “vacation” this past weekend and then he will be back on the road next week to participate in the Sunfest in Ocean City, MD. After, he will travel to Virginia for the Neptune Festival.

Though he plans to be on the road until Christmas, LeHoop has been a drummer for 50 years and has toured with a handful of different bands, so he is used to the constant travelling. The most notable band LeHoop played in was the Philadelphia based Pickens. He also played percussion in 1999 for an Israeli movie soundtrack called Zaya.

For the past 13 years, LeHoop has been experimenting with his drum paintings, which is said is all “trial and error.” He practiced privately for seven years before taking his technique public. The idea for painting with drumsticks began while hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1993, but it took him eight years to acts upon the idea.

“It was the summer of 2001 and I thought, ‘I’m going to try this today,’ and I did,” LeHoop said. “The rest is history.”

For more information on LeHoop and to view more of this drumstick art, visit his website georgielehoop.com.

by Alyse Horn

LeHoop with “Beyond Beyond” from this year’s Musikfest

He’s been called the Rock n’ Roll Jackson Pollock, and rightfully so. Georgie LeHoop, a drum artist from Saint Clair, PA, is known for his unique style of painting that consists of dipping his drumsticks in paint and “playing on canvas.” LeHoop says it can take him anywhere from 20 minutes to a few hours to complete a painting, as some of his works include a lot of thick and heavy paint and using drumsticks to apply colors is far different than using a brush.

Of course, with a style like this, things can get messy. LeHoop works mostly in his basement, but when he is touring at different festivals he is sometimes able to perform live demonstrations. “A lot of festivals don’t let me because it gets messy, so in those cases I have a DVD playing showing how [I create a painting],” LeHoop says.

LeHoop has currently been touring for 28 weeks across the country to share his work- Florida, Texas, Arizona and Connecticut to name a few. Currently, LeHoop just recently had his first “vacation” this past weekend and then he will be back on the road next week to participate in the Sunfest in Ocean City, MD. After, he will travel to Virginia for the Neptune Festival.

Though he plans to be on the road until Christmas, LeHoop has been a drummer for 50 years and has toured with a handful of different bands, so he is used to the constant travelling. The most notable band LeHoop played in was the Philadelphia based Pickens. He also played percussion in 1999 for an Israeli movie soundtrack called Zaya.

For the past 13 years, LeHoop has been experimenting with his drum paintings, which is said is all “trial and error.” He practiced privately for seven years before taking his technique public. The idea for painting with drumsticks began while hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1993, but it took him eight years to acts upon the idea.

“It was the summer of 2001 and I thought, ‘I’m going to try this today,’ and I did,” LeHoop said. “The rest is history.”

For more information on LeHoop and to view more of this drumstick art, visit his website georgielehoop.com.