Elvis Art - Velvet Elvis -  Elvis on Velvet You’re considered a great success when you inspire either devoted admiration or intense dislike in people. Edgar Leeteg long considered to be the father of velvet painting, is no exception. Leeteg was born in St Louis in 1904 he first worked as a billboard painter and sign writer in California before heading for the more exotic location of Tahiti in the 1930s. On his arrival he eked out a meagre living by selling erotic paintings of Tahitian beauties to visiting sailors. Specializing in voluptuous topless  women on velvet Leeteg completed 1,700 portraits that were eagerly snapped up by collectors

Edgar William Leeteg found his niche by revolutionizing velvet painting, but there was still no market for his work & no critical acceptance of the medium. He occasionally sold a painting, but it was mainly to sailors for a few dollars. He would oftentimes trade a painting to a bartender for a bottle of whiskey. The turning point in Leeteg's career came when Wayne Decker on vacation in happened upon several of Leeteg's velvets in a junk shop. The partnership latest until Leeteg death in 1953 at age 49.

Elvis on Velvet - Elvis art -  it's kitsch and the artistry often leaves something to be desired. However, there is no denying that painting on velvet makes a statement. It is the images of the 1950s that we mostly remember velvet paintings for. When Elvis was the King his image was bought  by fans in the thousands. Elvis on velvet assumes an almost iconic status, worshiped with the same fervor as that of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Elvis on Aloha. Blue Elvis still gazes down in many living rooms around the world today. More Elvis Art