Val Kilmer recently gave us Batman a last time as part of his beloved art
Val Kilmer on the set of "Batman Forever
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
(CNN) — In what would be the final years of his life, Val Kilmer leaned into a different type of art than acting, but he never forgot his fans.
In a social media post, shared just weeks ago, Kilmer joined artist David Choe with some Batman-themed art.
“It’s been awhile,” Kilmer says, before he dons a Batman mask.
“Oh you look great,” Choe can be heard saying.
The rest of the post includes more Batman art and a video with Choe sharing his lifelong love of the character Kilmer played in 1995’s “Batman Forever.”
The beloved star died on Tuesday, according to his daughter Mercedes Kilmer, who released a statement to the New York Times and the Associated Press. He was 65.
Kilmer was a celebrated photographer and artist. His final Instagram post on March 22 was a painting of which he wrote, “It’s got that late-night glow. Cool tones with a low burn, like when the camp fire cools down but you’re still wide awake.”
On the site of his gallery, Kamp Kilmer, the actor wrote: “I’m an artist. I’ve lived a magical life.”
“For more than half a century, I have been honing my art, no matter the medium,” Kilmer continued. “Be it literature, movies, poetry, painting, music, or tracking exotic and beautiful wildlife in the most remote African bush, to capture ephemeral moments with a camera, I yearn to express my creative spirit.”
The 2021 documentary “Val” featured insight into Kilmer’s career as an actor and artist. After throat cancer treatment impacted his voice, he turned to painting, photography and other mediums of expression.
On his gallery’s site, Kilmer offered some wisdom on how he handled loss.
“When one thing is taken, though, another is given,” he wrote. “With little voice, my creative juices were boiling over and pouring out of me. I started creating again, painting, writing anything I could. I felt the art healing me.”
Kilmer had been scheduled to attend the Beverly Hills Film Festival on the day he died, the festival’s founder and president shared in a press release.
The-CNN-Wire
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