Did you know Johnny Depp is not just a brilliant actor but also a talented painter? According to a UK gallery, Johnny literally broke the internet with the surprise online release of his debut art collection. The response? Massive. The sale brought in more than $3.6 million within just a few hours of being announced. Yes—millions, in hours.
Elephant paintings by Johnny Depp
You probably knew Johnny Depp as an actor, and maybe even as a musician, but did you know he’s now officially an artist too?
Back in 2017, during his appearance on The Ellen Show, Johnny shared something unexpected: he loves to paint. Especially elephants. He actually painted one for Ellen the day before his interview. How sweet is that?
The gesture touched a lot of people. Fans couldn’t stop talking about it, and his elephant painting quickly became a talking point online. It was personal, it was thoughtful, and it showed a whole new side of Johnny.
Since then, he’s only gotten better. Over the years, he’s kept painting, exploring his own style, and building what is now an impressive body of work.
Here is the full story below:
The story behind Johny Depp’s paintings and sales
Not long after winning his defamation case against Amber Heard, Johnny Depp made another headline, but this time, in the art world.
He surprised fans with an Instagram post where he sat in front of four striking portraits he had painted—each one a tribute to legendary figures. Alongside the photo, he wrote: “NOW AT #CASTLEFINEART,” tagging the UK gallery that would soon be overwhelmed by the response.
Moments later, the gallery shared the exciting news on Twitter:
“We are happy to announce that the latest signing to Castle Fine Art is the critically acclaimed actor, musician, and artist, #JohnnyDepp.”
And then… chaos.
Within just 20 minutes, the website crashed due to the sheer volume of traffic. That’s how intense the demand was. Fans rushed in, eager to own a piece of Depp’s art, and it wasn’t long before the phrase “Johnny Depp broke the internet” started trending.
It was a mix of surprise, emotion, and admiration. People weren’t just buying paintings, they were connecting with a whole new side of someone they thought they already knew.
“Friends & Heroes”
Johnny Depp’s collection titled “Friends & Heroes” is a heartfelt tribute to the people who’ve shaped his life, some he knew personally, others he admired from afar. It’s a celebration of influence, connection, and memory.
Ever since he can remember, Johnny has been sketching; on walls, notebooks, scraps of paper, anything he could find.
“There were a lot of walls when I was a child,” he once said, laughing.
Drawing became his escape. A quiet space he could always return to. That’s why art, for him, isn’t just a hobby—it’s always been part of his world, woven into his life.
In fact, for most of his life, he kept his art private. He never really shared it with the public… until now.
What made this moment so special is that Castle Fine Art gave him the space and encouragement to finally put his paintings out there—to show them to the world. And he was genuinely thrilled about it.
His art style:
The subject of Johnny’s first collection of limited edition artwork, Friends & Heroes, is people he has had meaningful relationships with and who have been an inspiration to him as an individual. Each picture is a portrayal of how the subject has conveyed some aspect of themselves to Johnny, and together they serve as an in-depth reflection of their personality as seen through Johnny’s eyes.
Working on photographic references, each image was simplified to create a more iconic portrayal of the topic. Johnny then added his signature freehand flourishes to the image in order to give it more energy and bring out the subject’s personality.
Johnny’s art style falls between the categories of “Pop Art” and “Street Art.” Images of people from popular culture that are instantly recognizable are reimagined in vivid, eye-catching colors and then given a layer of the wit and energy that is characteristic of street art. As a result, a series of images of media icons that have transcended the impersonal geometric simplicity of pop art have emerged. It’s Pop Art with some soul to it.
He also painted his daughter!
Johnny didn’t just paint legendary icons—he also painted someone very close to his heart: his daughter, Lily-Rose Depp.
He’s known for choosing subjects who’ve inspired him personally, and of course, Lily-Rose is right there at the top. As you can see in the photo below, he captured her beauty and spirit in his signature bold style.
“I’ve always used art to express my feelings and to reflect on those who matter most to me—like my family, friends, and people I admire. My paintings surround my life, but I kept them to myself and limited myself. No one should ever limit themselves.”
— Johnny Depp
This quote says it all. His art isn’t just creative—it’s deeply personal. And now, he’s finally letting the world in.
FAQ
Is Johnny Depp really an artist?
Johnny Depp officially became one recently when he shared to the world his first collection of prints to the public through the Castle Fine Art galleries which made him earn $3.6 million in a short amount of time. After a few hours, all his 780 prints had been purchased.
How much are Johnny Depp paintings?
Each picture had a worth of at least more than $4,000 (3,950 pounds), and clients had to pay a stunning amount that was over $18,000 for a framed set of all four paintings (14,950 pounds). Castle Fine Art dived deeper into Johnny`s love in art by building a blog for the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor.
What paintings did Johnny Depp sell?
He just put recently 780 copies of his artworks out for sale through the Castle Fine Art gallery in London, and they sold out “nearly immediately.” The proceeds from those sales brought him a stunning $3.6 million. The works are part of Depp’s Friends & Heroes collection, containing four portraits of Bob Dylan, Elizabeth Taylor, Al Pacino, and Keith Richards.
What type of art does Johnny Depp do?
According to Castle Fine Art, the actor’s paintings are located at the crossroads of pop art and street art, and they claim that the actor’s work is pop art with “a feeling”. The gallery had been waiting for Depp to finally agree to conduct an exhibition and sale of his artwork for a very long time. They are currently in discussions with him to showcase more of his work in the future.
What exactly is NFT art?
The abbreviation NFT refers to a non-fungible token, and it denotes the fact that each of those offbeat works of art has a singular and non-transferable piece of data that has been recorded on a digital ledger through the use of blockchain technology to establish ownership.
