Ozzy Osbourne is doing retirement the right way – by painting abstract art with chimpanzees

News
By ( Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Louder ) published

Pieces co-painted by The Prince Of Darkness and his primate pals are now up for auction

Ozzy Osbourne
(Image credit: Ross Halfin)

Days after retiring from the stage at Black Sabbath’s Back To The Beginning extravaganza, Ozzy Osbourne is auctioning artwork he painted with the help of chimpanzees.

The Prince Of Darkness is currently selling abstract art that he designed and then let chimps paint over, with bidding for each of the five available pieces starting at £1,000.

Proceeds from the auctions will go to the charity Save The Chimps, a Florida sanctuary for animals rescued from labs, poorly run zoos and traffickers. Browse the items on sale here.

Osbourne comments (via The Guardian): “I paint because it gives me peace of mind, but I don’t sell my paintings. I’ve made an exception with these collaborations as it raises money for Save The Chimps.”

His wife/manager Sharon adds: “Chimps are our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, and I’m really proud of Ozzy for helping look after them.”

Osbourne’s career as a live performer ended on Saturday (July 5), when he headlined Back To The Beginning with the fellow founding members of heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath. He also played a short, four-song set containing his greatest hits as a solo artist.

Back To The Beginning was an all-day event held at Villa Park, the home grounds of Osbourne and Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler’s beloved Aston Villa football club, in the band’s hometown of Birmingham. A rich array of heavy metal stars played the show, including Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Gojira, Slayer and Tool.

Osbourne will make his first public appearance post-live retirement at Comic-Con Midlands at Birmingham’s NEC venue this weekend. On July 12 and 13, he and members of his family – Sharon, their daughter Kelly and their son Jack – will take pictures and sign autographs for fans.

Lamb Of God singer Randy Blythe, Slipknot DJ (and Kelly’s fiancé) Sid Wilson and Anthrax members Scott Ian and Frank Bello will also be doing signings and meet-and-greets there.

Like Osbourne’s chimp-assisted paintings auction, Back To The Beginning was a charity event, and it’s estimated to have raised a total of $190 million for multiple Birmingham causes.

Matt Mills
Matt Mills
Contributing Editor, Metal Hammer

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.