Big Jeff: Bristol live music legend launches exhibition

Jeff Johns has attended more than 1,000 concerts since his college days

A man known across a city's music scene for his prolific gig attending is to display paintings which highlight his own struggles with anxiety.

Jeff Johns, known in Bristol as 'Big Jeff', was a familiar sight at music venues before the pandemic.

After starting going to gigs while at college, he was attending several a week before lockdown began.

He said the work reflects his "struggles around feeling like I don't fit into this world".

Painted over two years, the 34 images are aimed at challenging perceptions of people who suffer with anxiety, said Jeff.

'Hidden anxiety'

He said he started going to gigs while at college, to give him something to look forward to and to force himself to leave his accommodation, where he often felt anxious.

Concerts became a "safe space" for him, he said, and now he is capturing his experiences by painting.

"Art for me has been about expressing emotions I can't explain another way," added Jeff, an ambassador for Independent Venue Week.

"These paintings highlight my issues with hidden anxiety and mental health and the barriers these create.

"How people see me is one thing - but internally I sometimes feel completely different."

Are You Ok, one of Jeff's paintings

A set of 14 of Jeff's paintings have been hung in the Bristol Beacon and will be exhibited online from 3 February.

Later in the year, beginning on 20 May, his paintings will feature alongside artworks created by musicians in the Super Cool Drawing Machine exhibition, also at Bristol Beacon.

Jeff said the venue had been "really supportive" and if restrictions allowed he would also be displaying his art at Spike Island in the city centre in the summer.

Jeff's painting of musician Gaelynn Lea

Exhibition curator Lee Dodds said: "Jeff's paintings are uplifting and will definitely be popular with music fans and art collectors in Bristol and beyond.

"It's also important to Jeff to use this moment to highlight and invite conversation about mental health issues and anxiety."