Kyle Blain started his career making paintings of his favourite artists or album covers, with a regular muse of his being Paolo Nutini.
The 21-year-old put his skills to the test and painted his version of the Paisley singer’s album Last Night in the Bittersweet.
From then, he set out to meet his hero, finally getting in contact with his manager, who set up a meeting between the two during the last date of Paolo’s tour.
Speaking to the Advertiser, Kyle said: “In February, I painted a picture of his album cover and I basically emailed about trying to get in contact with anyone who could get in contact with him.
“Eventually, it led me onto getting in contact with his manager who set it up for us for the end of his tour.
“He’d been touring across Europe for a long time so it’s taken a bit of time but he had his last gig at Paisley and so I messaged him asking if there’s anything we could do.
“He said yeah and my mum and I went there and after the show we got to go backstage.”
Kyle took along the painting he had made to show Paolo, with the New Shoes singer signing his work.
The experience didn’t end there, however, as Kyle got to sit down with his favourite artists and discuss all things music, art and work.
“He was the nicest guy ever,” Kyle continued. “He was so down to earth and humble and we spoke for ages.
“I handed him my painting and he told me how great it was and then he gave me advice on how to grow in the creative industry.
“He said he understood that making a name for yourself is quite difficult and that art and music are quite similar.
“He told me to keep going, pursue my art and make something of it.”
On top of the backstage experience, Paolo told Kyle that he would like to work with him in the future.
The singer is known for commissioning artists to make paintings and prints of his albums and said he’d be in touch with Kyle in the future.
“He’s my favourite artist,” Kyle added. “We always had his CDs on in the car so he was a big part of the soundtrack growing up.
“He invited me to work on future things with him so we’re hopefully going to work together on art projects.
“He hires independent artists to paint pictures and posters that get sold at the gig so hopefully we’ll work together in the future.”
Kyle’s artwork can be viewed and purchased at kyleblainart.com.
