The Youth And Beauty Brigade

There are many soldiers who think that because one's trade is to make war one should never have a thought above fighting and plunder. But the highest soldier is one like myself who can understand the things of the mind and the soul. It is true that I was very young when I joined the army, and that the quarter-master was my only teacher, but if you go about the world with your eyes open you cannot help learning a great deal. Thus I was able to admire the artworks of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Sex Pistols and Joy Division, and to know the names of the great artists, Peter Blake, Andy Warhol, Jamie Reid, Peter Saville, and the others, who had created them.

Today there is a new wave of artists who have devoted their craft in some part to that which we call good music. Of these intrepid souls, perhaps none are more worthy of our praise than Elizabeth Peyton, Julian Opie and Carson Ellis. Peyton has immortalised many of our brightest supernovas, including Kurt, Jarvis, Liam & Noel, Beck, and Elliott; Opie contributed portraits of Damon, Alex, Graham and Dave to the Best of Blur collection; and Ellis is the artistic force behind the Decemberists, with a hand in all that comprises their visual aesthetic. Samples of the work of each are posted below for your edification and enjoyment: