Painting to Music....My New Discovery

'Another Beautiful Day'               12x16              pastel         ©Karen Margulis
painting available $165

It may sound hard to believe but I have discovered painting to music! Oh yes I would paint to music every once in awhile but for the most part I shared the company of news talk radio in my studio. It was wearing on me. The news is never good and so many talk radio hosts shout and rant. I like to be on top of the news and issues. But it was really not conducive to painting. Neither was television. I got too distracted by the programs.

I got a music tip from a tour bus driver in Iceland. And a whole new world has opened for me! We we parked in front of a hotel waiting for the passengers to come out. He had the radio on and a song came on that made him smile. With pride he told me it was the group 'Of Monters and Men'.  Not really up on current music I filed away the name and looked up the group when I got home. I was surprised that I knew them and their popular hit 'Little Talks'. I liked it a lot and I wanted more.

Out the window of a bus....Iceland! Thank you Tour Bus Driver!

So out of curiosity I opened up Spotify on my computer. Spotify is a music streaming service that gives you access to millions of songs on your computer or mobile device. It is available in a free version or paid premium service. You can search and discover music and organize your favorites in your own library.  I put in a search for 'Of Montsters and Men' and discovered they had a song in the Walter Mitty movie. That led to me adding the soundtrack to my list....and I discovered other songs that I liked so I added those albums to my list. This was music that reminded me of my Iceland adventure. Hearing these songs allowed me to be transported back to that wonderful place and time.

I continued exploring Icelandic music and discovered several other bands that I liked. This was fun! (I know where have I been!?)  Now I have a wonderful playlist of music that I have been painting to. many of them Icelandic groups. Instead of the ranting and bad news on the talk radio I am turning up the music. Painting has never been more fun!

Interested in discovering new music to paint to? Try Spotify. You can listen to radio stations, discover and share playlists and Spotify will suggest new music based on your selections. Here is a Mashable article on getting started with Spotify.   (you can follow me on Spotify...Karen Margulis)