Ed Sheeran ditches music for new aspiration

Ed Sheeran just debuted his paintings for people!

The singer, knowns for major hit songs like Shape of You and Perfect, launched an exhibition of his Cosmic Carpark Paintings in London’s Heni Gallery.

He will be selling his prints and artworks at the end of the exhibition, which would open on July 11 and conclude on August 1.

The money collected will be utilized to fund the Ed Sheeran Foundation, an initiative by the artist which provides inclusive, high-quality music education for every child.

“I started painting at the end of my Divide Tour in 2019 and it’s something that I’ve used as a creative outlet ever since,” Ed said of his passion for painting, as per The Evening Standard.

The Azizam singer continued, “When I was growing up, both of my parents worked in art, so I’ve naturally always been interested in it, and I always enjoyed studying art at school. I was back and forth on tour last year, and I used a lot of my downtime in the UK to paint.”

“I’d run to a disused car park in Soho each morning, paint, then run home and I’d do that daily until I headed back out on tour again,” he added.

“I told my good friends Damien Hirst and Joe Hage about the paintings, and they encouraged me to put on my own thing,” Ed revealed.

After this, he stated how it prompted him to use this opportunity "as a way of raising funds for my Ed Sheeran Foundation, which supports music education in the UK and helps fund grassroot music projects, schools and equipment, so all kids have access to music.”

“I want to thank Damien and Joe for everything they’ve done for me on this exhibition and I’m delighted to be putting it on,” he concluded.

This is not the first time people have gotten a glimpse of Ed Sheeran’s artistic talent, as one of his paintings were used as the single cover of his track Afterglow.