Artist John Rivoli is one of the millions moved by the mythical character Rocky Balboa. Rivoli first saw the film as an eight-year-old in 1976 and immediately went home to start drawing scenes from the film.

Rivoli's passion for Rocky and art soon evolved into a career as an animator, illustrator and fine artist, and ultimately led to hundreds of Rocky-inspired paintings, all of which can now be found in the new deluxe book "The Fine Art of Rocky: An Artistic Tribute From Screen To Canvas" ($60), complete with a foreword from Stallone himself.

Published by Insight Editions and distributed by Simon & Schuster, the 160-page publication is part art book and part analysis of the six Rocky films, all while featuring over a hundred of Rivoli's catalog of large-scale original paintings and posters.

Rivoli is the official franchise artist for Rocky and the founder of "Icons in Art," an online Rocky art shop licensed under MGM Studios since 2018.

Outside of his work across Rocky, which has also been featured as part of a partnership with Ring Magazine, Rivoli is the founder of the New York-based Rivoli Design Group and works on Hollywood blockbusters.

Rivoli joined The Ring for an interview to discuss his lifelong passion project and how he reinterprets Rocky through his own artistic lens.

I was just eight years old when Rocky came into my life, and it changed me forever. There was something about this ordinary guy from Philadelphia who had nothing but heart, determination, and a dream that spoke to me as a young boy. I connected with him.

As an artist, I’ve always been drawn to powerful imagery and storytelling. Rocky was a natural subject because every frame of that film seemed to tell a story. The emotion, the lighting, the grit, the humanity were all there.

The first drawing I ever did of Rocky was done after I left the theater and got home. That was the beginning of my life’s work to honor this character. I still have it, and it’s in my book.

What began as a personal tribute to a character I loved eventually became something much bigger. I realized I wasn’t simply painting scenes from a movie. I was capturing moments that had become part of people’s lives. That’s when I began to see the potential for an entire fine art collection.

Rocky represents hope. He represents the belief that no matter where you come from, how many times you’ve been knocked down, or how impossible the odds may seem, you can still accomplish something extraordinary.

I’ve spent more than 30 years working as an artist in the entertainment industry, often behind the scenes, creating artwork for some of the most recognizable films and characters in the world. Like Rocky, I’ve always believed in showing up, working hard, and letting my passion drive me.

But what makes Rocky special to me isn’t really about boxing. It’s his heart. It’s his humility, his loyalty, his love for Adrian, and his willingness to keep going when the world tells him he can’t. Those are the qualities I’ve tried to bring into my work. I want people to feel something while creating something beautiful.

Having Sylvester Stallone write the foreword is an extraordinary honor, especially considering how much this character has meant to me since childhood. He gave the world a character who has inspired generations of people to believe in themselves.

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working on the Rocky legacy through my artwork, including anniversary projects celebrating this iconic franchise. What makes his involvement in the book so meaningful is that the artwork comes from a place of genuine love and respect for something he created. For me, his contribution brings the story full circle, from an eight-year-old boy inspired by Rocky to an artist whose work has become part of celebrating that legacy.

Recently, Stallone told me this: “You really are unbelievably gifted and unique and so original. I can see your style from 50 feet away."

I always say that Rocky is an art film. When you watch Rocky, you’re watching extraordinary visual storytelling. The cinematography, the shadows, the composition, the expressions – every element contributes to the emotion of the story. What I try to do with my paintings is take a moment that might last only a few seconds on screen and give people the opportunity to live with it.

A film moves forward. A painting allows you to stop time. Through color, texture, light, and composition, I can interpret the emotional power of that moment in my own way. Sometimes it’s the determination in Rocky’s eyes. Sometimes it’s the tenderness between Rocky and Adrian. Sometimes it’s the loneliness of a fighter standing in the ring. I’m trying to capture the soul of the scene and give the fans something they have not seen before.

It's "Alone In The Ring," which appears on the cover of the book.

Every painting presents its own challenges, but the most difficult ones aren’t necessarily the most technically complicated. They’re the ones that carry the greatest emotional weight, and this one is the heaviest of them all.

When you’re painting an iconic character like Rocky, there’s a responsibility to honor what that moment means to millions of people. You have to get more than the likeness right. You have to capture the feeling. The vulnerability, the determination, the exhaustion, or the triumph. This, to me, is the most important moment in the film. It’s where Rocky changes his goal. He moves away from his 'want' – to win the fight and to his 'need' – to go the distance. This is the entire theme of the film right here, and I painted this multiple times until I captured that pivotal moment correctly.

It's because everybody has been Rocky at some point in their life. We’ve all been underestimated. We’ve all experienced rejection, disappointment, heartbreak, or moments when we questioned whether we were good enough. Rocky speaks to something universal in the human spirit. What I find remarkable is that 50 years later, a new generation can watch that film and experience the same emotions people felt in 1976.

And I think people sometimes forget that Rocky is one of the greatest love stories ever told. Yes, there’s boxing, but at its heart, it’s a story about two lonely people who find love, dignity, and purpose in each other. Rocky doesn’t need to win the fight to become a champion. He just needs to prove to himself that he belongs. That’s a message that will never grow old.

I hope people come away seeing Rocky as more than a great sports movie. I want them to recognize it as a true work of cinematic art and that it deserves to live in the fine art world. There’s an extraordinary visual language throughout the film. The lighting, the framing, the intimate human moments, and the contrast between vulnerability and strength are all incredibly powerful.

When you take those moments out of the moving picture and reinterpret them as fine art, you begin to appreciate the filmmaking in a completely different way. That’s really at the heart of the book.

I wanted to create a book that celebrates not only the character and his legacy, but also the artistry behind the film. For me, it’s a love letter to Rocky, to cinema, and to the creative vision that brought this remarkable story to life.

For longtime Rocky fans, I hope they discover details and emotions in these familiar moments that they may have never noticed before.