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How Painting Helped Sylvester Stallone Find Solace

Aired on 02/18/1992 | CC tv-pg
Sylvester Stallone is best known for his iconic roles as gritty boxer Rocky Balboa and Vietnam vet John Rambo. But when he's not performing his own stunts in his latest action movie, the actor expresses his more sensitive side through his passion for fine art. In 1992, Oprah Show cameras followed Sly through his Malibu, California, home as he showed off his stunning art collection. He credited painting with providing him solace and "instant validation" (some of his pieces sold for up to $40,000), and the alternate form of expression gave the actor/director a concrete sense of accomplishment he felt he couldn't achieve through film.

"I needed a release. I needed something that would be a sounding board, something that would really reveal whatever I was undergoing psychologically," Sly told Oprah. "And that's when painting really came to the forefront."

Here, Sly reveals more about his contemporary style and creative process, which the actor has been honing since he started painting at age 13.

Original airdate: February 18, 1992