Tico Torres, Las Vegas Sun, Feb. 23, 1996

Rocker-turned-painter trains eye, brush on other cultures Lisa Sciortino Friday, Feb. 23, 1996 | 11:59 a.m. As Bon Jovi's hit song "Dead or Alive" claims, he's seen a million faces and rocked 'em all. Now, Tico Torres is painting them. The drummer for the rock band ("You Give Love A Bad Name," "Livin' On A Prayer") has put down his sticks and picked up again his lifelong love of painting. He's using the people and places he's encountered on the road as inspiration for his quasi-expressionist works. His favorite backdrops: Africa and the Orient. Torres was influenced by "the people in those parts of the world, the way they live and grow up and the purity of that. It's such an old custom," he explained recently by phone from his home in New Jersey. His works have been displayed four times since he debuted in 1994, at shows in New York City, Florida and Cleveland. OK, so he's no Anthony Quinn, but still, not bad for a rock star. "It's overwhelming that people come out and enjoy it," he says. "Some people get real emotional, a piece really strikes them." Torres' latest exhibit, of over 40 paintings and sculptures, opens Wednesday at the new Galleria at Sunset mall and runs through March 31. Some of his other influences come from his early childhood spent in Cuba, a place he recalls through memories as "paradise. I remember it was so much like Casablanca." White fedora hats and all. He also relies on everyday situations -- like a little girl playing soccer in one of his favorite pieces, "Color My World." "Sometimes you've just got to play ball," he says. The 42-year-old credits his use of bright colors and rich textures to his Latin roots. His work has been compared to that of European expressionists Bacon and Munch, though Torres tries to "play that down." "I never think my stuff's that good. It comes from my heart and soul," he says. "It's a feeling. Once it's on the canvas, it's gone." He's also been called a Renaissance man by a couple of writers (but mostly by his publicists), a distinction he shies away from. "I didn't write that," he interjects. "I don't think of myself as anything special. I just like to live (life) basically." Could be fun with a fiance like supermodel Eva Herzigova by your side. "She's one of the reasons I'm painting, she pushed me in that direction. She's wonderful." Of course, having a few dozen hit songs under your belt doesn't hurt either. "Being in a famous group does help bring people down" to the exhibits. "A lot more people are just coming for the art, which I prefer."