Ozzy Osbourne kept busy in his final days with a heartwarming yet highly unusual artistic collaboration by painting with chimpanzees, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Prince of Darkness’s work with the primates is being shown for the first time at the Miami Art Week, starting on Wednesday, December 3, which would have been Osbourne’s 77th birthday.
Creative Collaboration
Five different original paintings were created by Osbourne and the chimps.
Osbourne started the canvases with multicolored base coats in the weeks before his death on July 22. They were then sent to the artistic chimp residents of the Save the Chimps sanctuary in Fort Pierce, Florida, where the primates added their brushstrokes.
Five original artworks were created by the rocker and the chimps, which Osbourne later signed. They will make their U.S. debut at Miami’s Mana Wynwood Convention Center.
The paintings were all named after the Birmingham, England native’s most famous tunes and albums as the lead singer of Black Sabbath and later as a solo artist, featuring the titles Blizzard of Ozz, Electric Funeral, Paranoid, Tattooed Dancer, and Technical Ecstasy.
Osbourne and Chimp’s Auction Success
Osbourne and Janice the chimp’s ‘Paranoid’ sold for a whopping $18,000 at auction.
The paintings were sold through Omega Auctions for a total of $75,000 at auction in the week after Osbourne’s farewell show in Birmingham on July 5.
The top seller was Paranoid, a purple base and yellow base with red and black swaths, which went to an art-loving Osbourne fan who paid $18,000. It was co-created by the Crazy Train singer and a chimp named Janice.
“I paint because it gives me peace of mind, but I don’t sell my paintings,” the rocker shared in a July 10 Facebook post announcing the auction.
He added, “I’ve made an exception with these collaborations as it raises money for Save the Chimps, a sanctuary for hundreds of apes rescued from labs, roadside zoos, and wildlife traffickers,” and that the auction closed on July 17.
‘Proud of Ozzy’
Osbourne is seen checking out his ‘Tattooed Dancer’ painting.
Osbourne’s widow, Sharon Osbourne, approved the sale of limited-edition, numbered prints priced at $150 at Miami Art Week, with all proceeds benefiting Save The Chimps’ Florida sanctuary.
“Chimps are our closest relatives in the animal world, and I’m proud of Ozzy for summoning the energy to support them during his last months, despite his health challenges,” Sharon, 73, explained. “The original paintings raised much-needed funds for the sanctuary, and the prints, scarves, and t-shirts will give even more fans the opportunity to help.”
“Ozzy was a man of the people, so we priced the prints and merch so his fans could participate,” Save The Chimps Events Director Dan Mathews added.
Ozzy’s Final Show
Osbourne is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame both as a solo artist and a member of Black Sabbath.
Ozzy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019 and revealed his health battle to fans the following year.
The chronic, progressive brain disorder caused the singer to quit touring and step back from public life in his later years. Despite losing the ability to walk on his own, Ozzy thrived in his farewell show while seated atop a bat throne, belting out his classic hits one last time.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s official cause of death was listed as “acute myocardial infarction,” where blood flow to part of the heart is suddenly blocked, as well as “out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.”
The death certificate also noted Parkinson’s with autonomic dysfunction and coronary artery disease as “joint causes” contributing to Ozzy’s death.
