In the Hood, and other iterations

This Anthropomorph is a fox terrier, named Romeo. He makes his home with 2 parents and 4 little children. Here, he goes into Sherwood Forest. I've been doing quite of a bit of character art for custom portraits lately, and I really enjoy it! It appeals to the silly little girl who seems to occupy quite a bit of my personality. I did another for this awesome client, the Word-Slinger. I just seems like this little dog has a good imagination. I merely brought it out of him!

Speaking of iterations, I could probably blog all day. If I don't quite know what I'm going to write, I start, then walk away for a while, eventually going back and adding more. But, putting on some music usually gets me into the right frame of mind, to write or paint!

Have you ever noticed how impactful music is on your creativity? I like show tunes, jazz, blues, alternative, and even metal. Recently, I was watching a Megadeth concert on TV, and despite thinking I would not really be interested, I watched anyway. It didn't take long before I realized how really complicated that stuff is. So much so, that I have a new appreciation for it, and I felt really creative that night. I guess you never know what will work for you.

I tell you what doesn't usually work for me. Depressing music. Can't listen to a lot of estrogen bands, female songwriters, although very talented and expertly performed, tend to use an awful lot of emotion in their music, making it kind of depressing. I can only listen for so long before I'm ready to find some chemical alteration. There is one very emotional band, though, the Cocteau Twins, who seem to inspire me in a very deep way, although I've never tried to paint while listening to them.

There are some bands, that no matter how much I listen to them, I don't seem to tire of the music. Number one for me seems to be Dave Mathews Band. I don't know what it is, but I always feel uplifted when listening them them, especially my favorite song, "2 Step".

I also love Queen. I don't think I need to go into why, but you definitely feel empowered! It's very relaxing to listen to Queen while I'm working in a client's home, I get this cadence going, and my hand and the brush really flow! Also a favorite of my friend Michel Nadai, the French Master painter who mentored me in trompe l'oeil.

And if you want to be inspired, how about KT Tunstall, "Suddenly I see" --this is what I want to be!

Many others inspire me to paint in different ways but are nonetheless not saddening (to me). Try these if you a painter: Pink Floyd, Mark Knopfler, Jimmy Buffet, Showtunes, like Phantom of the Opera. Cable even has a showtunes channel. A couple of songs by Blues Traveler also get me going, and I love them for road music, too! A few more that are crazy, fun and mellow: Cake, Beck, The Ramones, and Van Morrison!

This morning, I was excited to play a couple of new CDs given to me by a friend; Marlene Dietrich and Edith Piaf! I absolutely love that old music. Like a cafe/coffee house feel...fun!
The funniest thing happened with Marlene Dietrich: I found myself imagining I was Madeleine Kahn in Blazing Saddles, loathing across the stage in the most hilarious fashion, singing to the boys, "I'm zo ty-ud, ty-ud of pwaying ze game..."

Try some of these different styles and see what affects you in a creative way, gets you singing along, and lifts you up.

I'd like to hear what makes your paint brush steamy!

In the Hood, and other iterations