Painting to music
We all need a passionate boost in our creative process once in a while. Creative writer Julia Cameron makes the point, “When I am afraid of my own creativity (which may be to say I am afraid of my own passion), I turn to passion and creativity of others whose hearts have burst into music and I let them light the way for me.”
Moving from mundane states of consciousness such as dispair, boredom and negativity into inspiration and creative expansion can be brought on by music. I start most of my painting by turning on some favourite tunes and moving my body. I start with some stretches and then let the paint flow and move acroos the canvas to the rhythm.
Why dont you try this. You can intensify and shift your attention into a more expanded state by painting intuitively to music.
Here are some tips and ideas to get you started.
- Set up your painting area so that you can drop paint or get a bit messy without interruption – you don’t want to interrupt the process because you’re worried about the carpet. Either take it outside, or put down some newspaper or a towel
- Limit yourself and only use a couple of colours, preferably ones that mix well to avoid a murky brown end result. You can also provide some white and black for contrast.
- Also, provide different painting tools for interest and texture – thick, stubby paintbrushes, sponges, feathers, anything you can find, even your hands.
- Use music that moves you emotionally. Fast or slow, maybe a bit of both,,,,
- Pick a few songs with different tempos and moods, and try at least one instrumental-only piece
- Give yourself permission to paint what you feel or what you hear and dont worry about painting anything specific (like an object or a scene)
- Turn off the inner critic, Allow yourself to focus on your art without interruption.
- After you are done, sit back and ask yousef,,,,
- How does it feel?
- What did you see?
- What were you feeling when you painted this?
- How does this colour make you feel?
- Did you enjoy painting to music
This is a wonderful excercise to help us provmcess our emotions. Emotions or thoughts that may have been confusing or intangible are now on paper, expressed without encountering communication boundaries. We can look at what we are feeling from a different perspective.
Painting to music can allow you the space to let go and experience the movements and emotions of creating, while being “given permission” to not worry about creating something representational.
Also, this activity opens up an inner dialogue about emotions, music, and art. Descriptive words like “sweeping” or “fast tempo” can be used to describe the art and music. But don’t push yourself to “label” your work or your feelings. But take note about where you are at and what you are experiencing.
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