The Importance of the Right Painting Music

'The End to a Beautiful Beginning'         16x20             pastel        ©Karen Margulis
click here to purchase $225

Music and Art are closely intertwined.  In fact many of the terms used in music can be easily applied to the process of creating a painting. Notes of color, rests, harmony...and much more. There are many comparisons we can draw from both. So it makes sense that the music we listen to as we paint can effect the way we work.  Music can fill us up and move us the way a painting can.  It can move us and make us feel something.

The right music can help you get into that special zone where you are painting what you feel. 

If you are trying to paint something grand and majestic then listening to music that makes you feel grand and majestic can help you interpret that feeling.  If the music moves you then your whole body and mind will respond. Music also can be associated with memories. Hearing the same music again can bring you right back to the place and time you first heard it.

'I Can See Forever'             4x11              pastel
click here to purchase $100

I had forgotten just how powerful the right music can be. I used to listen to music when I painted but had gotten away from it.  Recently I've been listening to live streaming trials  as background noise. I was interested in the real life drama. But it really did nothing to inspire me.

One of the things Stan Sperlak did at his recent workshop was a one hour evening demo of a large sky/marsh painting. He had on music...loud. And it was the perfect backdrop. The music started slow and quiet and built to a crashing crescendo as his painting came to a finish. The whole demo was amazing and the music made it extra special.

detail of painting

I plan to cut out the background chatter and put on some music when I paint. I just bought the music Stan was playing and I know it will bring back the beauty of the farm when I paint from my photos.