Sunday, March 1, 2009

Music as the Muse






I am not a musical person (in the creating sense) but have recently found it influencing my work. As I mentioned before my house is used as a jam space for several bands so up to three days a week I find myself painting in the midst of jams lasting until the wee hours. That direct connection to music has definitely broadened my taste and I have found myself trying to relate it to what I paint.
A few months ago Rebecca Woodmass, a local Classical Opera singer, asked me to create the visual aspect of her final recital on March 5. I was instantly intrigued because her music is so traditional and my art is contemporary. It is bound to be an interesting mix. She sent me a cd of her recital music to use as inspiration while I painted. I've never sat down and listened to classical music for an extended period of time but as I listened and tried to relate and I fell for its eery beauty and a deep appreciation began to form. The challenge of creating work for Rebecca's recital is that I had to have the theme of 'Longing' in mind. I don't normally work with a set theme and frequently just start with a loose idea and see where it takes me. 'Longing' seemed very romantic which again isn't my usual 'shtick' but after a few failed attempts I think I've found my footing. What's differed from my usual process was that in order to help ideas flow I worked on two or more paintings at once. This helped to push different ideas and along and made me feel more secure about the deadline. I think it has also created an interesting mix of pieces.
I'm crossing my fingers that the visual aspect will do her incredible voice justice.
I'm hoping to get some video of the show and I will be posting my finished paintings early this week! Gah!
So if you're looking for something to do Thursday night... Come check out her final recital at St. Margaret's Anglican Church at the corner of Westminster and Ethelbert St. It will go from 7:30pm - 9:30pm. And as my boyfriend says
"Let's get cultured!"

And my apologies for the shitty picture quality. I had to resort to photobooth due to a broken camera. I'll be getting a new one soon so we won't have anymore of the shenanigans..

Rapunzel inspired by Man Ray (in progress)
charcoal, graphite, and acrylic on cardboard
approx. 7ft

Woman in Red (In progress)
acrylic and graphite on canvas

New Years Day '09 Playa Del Carmen (in progress)
acrylic on canvas
*this is actually a custom order for my parents that will also be used for the show

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