Creative Process

I have two ways of painting sounds. Early on in my painting career, I had enough free time to paint every day, without much forethought. I would simply turn on whatever music it was that I needed to hear and translate visually, and prepare myself in an initial session of listening, picking out the colours and any other materials I needed, asking for guidance, and following my intuition as I began to paint. Continuity was not much of an issue, as I could often colour block, underlay as required, and add details later. I found when I painted, that the image would emerge as I went, and my conviction in what I was doing was strengthened with every stroke of line and colour. Once I began, it was very difficult to stop and in consequence, many of my early works were painted very quickly over the weekend or in the evenings. I could not keep away! But this way of painting is very intense, and I had to rest in between sessions. 

When my life evolved in new directions, I no longer had a lot of free time. To carry the thread of a painting in my awareness between painting sessions, I turned to mapping – planning and annotating in preparation prior to painting.
This strategy allowed me to experience music in much closer detail and to correlate my observations with the use of form, colour and texture on paper in ways that had not been available to me before. I am not currently aware of anyone else who uses this creative process in the course of painting music, and I am grateful for the circumstance that led me to it.