We’re talking Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Tupac Shakur, Johnny Cash, Michael Jackson, Clint Eastwood – even Al Capone.

He’s also painted the pop star Pink, who has her own kind of iconic qualities. 

Tony has two versions of the singer – Soft Pink and Hot Pink. Clever that. 

About 15 of Tony’s large paintings will be on sale or auctioned on Thursday at Bar Petite in Newcastle’s East End. 

“My work is mainly for big walls, where they have an impact,” Tony said.

“The eyes are probably about the size of my hand. That’s an indication of how big they are.”

The works are priced from $1000 to $3500. A quarter of the proceeds will be donated to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service. Mike Rabbitt is hosting. 

Tony says he paints icons because “people love them”.

“These types of paintings are probably the most popular types of paintings in the world. They appeal to all age groups,” he said.

He likes ‘em, too.

“I’ve always been a big fan of the older icons like Audrey Hepburn. She’s one of the true icons. She’s quite lovely to paint. 

“I did a few Pinks because she was touring Australia at the time. Everyone kept saying ‘why don’t you do a Pink’.”

Tony, of Tamworth, isn’t a typical artist. He ran a plastering business for 30 years and was a top water polo and rugby league player. He coached the West Tamworth Lions first grade rugby league team for 18 years, winning eight premierships.

Rugby League journalist Barry Toohey, who now writes for the Newcastle Herald, once described Tony as the “Wayne Bennett of the bush”.

Tony retired from footy coaching in 2013, giving him a lot more time to paint. 

“People get surprised when they see I do paintings. They go ‘what’s an old front rower doing painting?’ But it’s something I’ve done all my life and always enjoyed.”

As well as icons, he likes the “raw urban look that’s textured – like graffiti on canvas”.

Quite a few of his artworks depict beautiful women with fashion-model looks – but on canvas instead of runways.

“If you’ve gone through Melbourne’s alleyways, you’ve seen the graffiti. I like that vibe and style. The soft images of the ladies look great on walls.”

He paints men, too.

“I was doing a lot of female faces, which everyone loves. But then I did a few of the guys as well, like Johnny Cash, Elvis and Clint Eastwood.

“My young blokes were saying ‘Dad, you need to do Tupac’. I thought Tupac was a finish on a kitchen cupboard. When I looked into it, he had one of those faces whose eyes really draw you in.”

Tony said the rescue helicopter was “a vital service to the bush”.

“A mate not long ago broke about six vertebrate in his neck riding a bike. The Westpac helicopter was there. Years ago, a young rugby player walked into the propeller of a plane and severed his arm. The helicopter saves people’s lives.”

The event aims to combine “a bit of art, culture and charity”. It starts at 6pm on Thursday.