I was curious what it would feel like to paint to the rhythm of my music -- to pretend my canvas was a drum and the paintbrushes were drumsticks. Click play and paint to the beat, dance it out with paint! This is what the music looks like when you convert it into something tangible; music illustration.
I knew I would feel the pressure of time, a rush to paint finish the painting before the end of the song. To make my work easier, I laid out the paint brushes and opened the paint cans ahead of time so I could just reach for them and not fiddle around and lose precious painting time. I only had 3 minutes and 30 seconds for each canvas. I played the song four times so we now have four 4x4" canvases. Interesting isn't it how the paintings came from the same source of inspiration and were created in the same fashion, in the same moment, and yet they are so different. The song I'm painting to is "Call Me Wilde" -- the 9th track on my album "The Sound of Freedom".
Each time I replayed the song and started painting a new canvas, I also moved my camera tripod to a new location so I could capture this paint adventure from four different angles. The whole project took me about 30 minutes and I spent about and hour and half editing the video on my computer. This creation experience was really satisfying because it came to life so quickly. I had the idea for this project on my drive home at night and it was manifested, brought to life, vision accomplished, by breakfast the next morning! I felt in my body that it was a beautiful idea and I needed to act on it right away. Don't let yourself sit on those good ideas. Take action immediately before the momentum of inspiration fades.
This project celebrates how limitation gives you freedom! I limited myself to a small tiny canvas. When you paint on large canvas you can spread out and take up space. If you make something beautiful you can leave it and move on to the next open area. When you're painting on tiny area of space you have to make critical decisions like, "am I going to paint over this pretty part?....because I'm running out of room!" Limiting space means I had to make decisions and let go of pretty parts. Painting is all about letting go. Creating anything is about letting go. I had to be okay with whatever the final product looked like. Half way through the song I had created a pretty picture; the canvas looked amazing after 1 minute of painting and I was afraid of messing it up by continuing to paint. But the rules of the game were to paint until the end of the song. Keep painting. I ran out of room and so I had to paint over the top of something that was pretty. It was heartbreaking but I forced myself to let go of my attachment to the outcome. Just keep painting.
I also had to be a complete work of art (from zero to sixty) in the length of one song. I was nervous as the song came to the final seconds. What if I don't like how the painting looks yet? Quickly!!!!! Fix it!!! What if my final stroke fucks the whole thing up?! These were the worries I had to face while painting these canvases. These are the life lessons we have to face all the time, right?
We're all afraid of messing up and making rushed fearful decisions that change the course of our lives or afraid that we're going to get stuck somewhere or run out of time. All real concerns for us humans. Facing these challenges through artwork is a low risk way to process and strengthen our decision making abilities. It carries over into the rest of our lives.
So, my friend. What vision is in your head today? How can you take immediate action today to bring that vision to life? What life lessons are you learning through your artwork? Throw paint everywhere! No starting plans. Just dive in and discover what flows out of you as if flows out of you. Thank you for hanging out with me for a moment. I hope something here helped, inspired or entertained you. ‘
❤ Love, Cha
CHA🍍WILDE
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