Chrissie Hynde is most famous for her work in the Pretenders, the band responsible for rock classics like “Brass in Pocket,” “2000 Miles” and “Don’t Get Me Wrong.”

A core member of the punk movement, Hynde worked for fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and punk impresario Malcolm McClaren at their clothing store, Sex, as well as at NME magazine, and played in bands with members of Visage, the Clash, and the Sex Pistols before putting together the Pretenders. Since finding global success, she has collaborated with stars including Frank Sinatra, Cher, Neneh Cherry, John Cale, Nick Cave, Shane McGowan, and many more. She has appeared in films including Happy Feet (2006), while her track “2000 Miles” appeared on the soundtrack of the 2008 cult classic In Bruges.

But those aren’t the rock star’s only crossovers. Throughout her life Hynde has had a love of art—and for a decade now, she has been painting alongside her musical career. Some designs from Westwood’s Spring-Summer 2021 collection were based on Hynde’s artworks. In a book of her art, Adding the Blue (2018), Tim Marlow, artistic director at London’s Royal Academy of Arts, wrote: “The fact that Chrissie is a great musician underpins her painting in a variety of ways. She learns by doing and in the process her work becomes more distinctive and compelling, an expression of the life force within made visible.”

Chrissie Hynde, Afternoon Poppies (2023). Courtesy Broadbent.

Hynde is now exhibiting her work with London gallery Broadbent in a show called “Hynde Sight – Recent Paintings.” The exhibition of over 60 paintings and drawings explores Hynde’s work from the last four years.

We asked Hynde about her multifaceted creative practices, about mixing the worlds of art and music, and about what painters have inspired her daubings.

You have painted and made art for some time. What made you want to show the work now?

I wasn’t that interested in showing them as much as getting rid of the canvases… otherwise they’re just collecting dust in a warehouse. But having said that, if one makes a piece of so-called art, it seems it isn’t really taken to its final conclusion if it isn’t seen or heard. So now that the paintings have been viewed, it feels more like they’re finished.

What has it been like to share your artwork in this way for the first time?

There was a book published by Genesis Publications a while back called Adding the Blue. Nick and Catherine Roylance, who handle Genesis (started by their father in the ‘70s) approached me when they heard I was painting, and I agreed to let them do the book. The title came from one of my songs. They do beautiful books—mainly on music-related people like Jeff Beck and Paul Weller. So, they did one on my paintings and that sort of kick-started what now feels like a second career.

Chrissie Hynde, Thursday Evening Bowl. Courtesy Broadbent.

This exhibition focuses on work spanning 2020–2024. Why did you choose to show work from this period only?

I let Angus Broadbent, my agent, make the selection. I was on tour and too distracted to get involved. I met Angus through Andrew, the lawyer I engaged when making my ever-changing will. I was talking to Andrew, and we got to the question of “Who am I leaving my warehouse of paintings to?” And I realized it wasn’t fair to expect someone else to deal with them. So, he introduced me to Angus, and I said “Good, now get rid of them.”

In your experience, how does the music industry compare with the art world?

I don’t know anything about the art world as far as the industry. I’m not all that aware of the industry side of music either. Except of course how computers have made everything instantly accessible. I’m not a collector. I prefer to have a print of something, like for instance, a Van Gogh. Then there’s not the worry of insurance and whatnot. I can enjoy his work and who wants to steal a postcard? Same with the music industry. I leave all the business to my manager, Ian Grenfell. I’ve never gotten overly involved… I don’t like doing promo or being recognized in public. So, I try to keep a low profile. Avoid award ceremonies.

I met Taylor Swift, and she said her parents encouraged her to get into business, but that “Music was my passion.” Seems like she was pretty good at business as a sideline. But me, I’m no good at business because I’m not interested in it.

What we all have in common, musicians or visual artists, is that we don’t like being told what to do.

Who and what has had the biggest influence on your art?

Oh, I suppose Van Gogh. He was doing psychedelic painting and I like that. I see him as the Jimi Hendrix of painting. I saw a Mark Rothko retrospective a few years ago at the Louis Vuitton museum in Paris. That guy really went through a lot of emotional turmoil that you could see in his “journey.” I guess all artists do.

And there was a little-known artist, Jules Pascin. I’d never heard of him, but I saw his name on a plaque on a building in Paris where his studio had been. So, I looked him up and found him interesting. He worked for years and then killed himself just before he was about to have a big exhibition. It was 1930. The entire neighborhood in Montmartre followed his hearse to the cemetery because he used to have everyone over to his studio—lay on the drink and then get them cabs home. He did gentle, nice drawings of the locals. Mainly the sex workers.

Chrissie Hynde, Three Jugs (2023). Courtesy Broadbent.

What is the difference between making a painting and writing a song?

Painting is a strictly solo affair. I don’t know what the viewer is getting out of it. But a song is more of a shared experience… as far as writing a song or painting—not much difference really.

Who is your favorite painter? Why?

I enjoy [Clash bass player] Paul Simonon’s work very much. The first time I met him, in 1976, he was carrying one of his paintings with him. He went on to play in the Clash, but I always think of him more as a painter because that’s how I met him.

You have examples of portraiture, abstraction, and landscapes but your recent focus seems to be on still life. What moves you to capture something? Does it vary subject to subject?

I’m always too fast. I don’t contemplate enough—I just start painting. So, if I’m near a bunch of flowers or my dog, I paint what I see. Lately my laziness has led me to more abstractions.

Color appears to be very important to your artistic practice. What is your relationship with color? 

Color absolutely influences one’s mood. I found that wearing yellow lensed sunglasses when it’s gloomy really raises my mood. But then I run the risk of looking like Bono. Probably why he always wears them. I must remember to ask him sometime.

People sometimes question whether artists can move between disciplines in this way. What do you have to say to these people?

It seems more difficult for a musician to get into acting because one is always aware that the actor is a rockstar… i.e. “that’s Jagger dressed like the monk”… but painting—well, you can hide yourself.

What is the relationship between making music and making paintings for you?

The similarity is that I’m required to do promotion… like now.

“Hynde Sight– Recent Paintings” is on view at Broadbent, 4 Cromwell Place, London, through December 14.