Liza Grant Smith of Palm Beach Illustrated recently caught up with KISS frontman Paul Stanley. The following is an excerpt from the interview:

For the better part of three decades, the canvas Paul Stanley was best known for painting was his own face. As a front man for the legendary rock band KISS, Paul has been electrifying audiences in his signature spandex and platform boots since the band's debut in the mid-1970s. These days, however, he has discovered another artistic passion, one that requires much more personal insight and much less personal makeup. His growing collection of original paintings, which began as a cathartic journey, has ended up resonating with art lovers, collectors and critics alike and earned him a whole new audience of devoted fans.

PBI: What led you down this latest road of artistic expression?

Stanley: "Divorce will jolt you in ways you may not expect. My best friend told me that I needed to paint. He seemed to feel I needed a release-and he was right. I went out and bought canvases and brushes and basically started on an emotional journey, a way to discover in myself things that were going on and put them on canvas. Kind of like stream-of-consciousness, but instead of words, using color and texture."

PBI: How would you describe your art?

Stanley: "It's about delving into myself. When I start a painting it's like a trip in which I don't know where I'm going, but I know when I've gotten there. It's really about finding an emotional connection and once I feel that's complete, I tend to believe that it will connect and resonate with someone else. So far I'm pretty right."

PBI: What's the difference between creating music and creating works of art?

Stanley: "Music has many more boundaries and frameworks that you have to work within. You have the structure of the music, the melody on top of that, and then the lyrics have to rhyme. Everything has to fit within parameters. Whereas with art, there are no rules. You don’t have the same limitations because if it can be done with color and texture, the possibilities are endless.

Go to this location for the complete interview.