Meet the Painter Adorning Phoebe Bridgers’s Guitars

In December 2022, surrealist painter John Griswold received an Instagram message from musician Phoebe Bridgers expressing her admiration for his work. Bridgers inquired if Griswold had ever painted on a guitar, sparking the beginning of a creative collaboration. Griswold, renowned for his Renaissance and Baroque-inspired paintings, has since adorned multiple instruments with his artwork for Bridgers, including guitars, a lyric book, a vinyl cover, and a mysterious puzzle for her upcoming third solo album, Lost Weekend.

The most iconic collaboration was a custom-painted Gibson guitar, showcased for the first time when Bridgers performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Both artists shared a common artistic language, working together over four years to bring Bridgers' vision to life. Griswold painted on the aged guitar surface, avoiding any alteration of its existing wear. The oil paintings on the guitar are deeply connected, echoing Bridgers's style. Griswold's largest image - a yellow satin-clad boy in armor - was inspired by his childhood fascination with Dutch Golden Age masters.

For Bridgers' lyric book and vinyl cover, Griswold painted additional works featuring a boy holding a sword, a girl in a gown, and a sunflower hand. These pieces form a cohesive narrative around the themes of death and loss in Bridgers' latest album. While not every fan might recognize the artwork, Griswold believes that the "dreamlike juxtapositions" will resonate with viewers on a personal level, inviting them to interpret the imagery through their own experiences and emotions.