11" x 15", watercolour, 2000, private collection
When I'm painting, I tend to have one of two things on to keep me company and/or inspire me during the process: music or movies (I include TV shows on DVD), and, more often than not, they don't have any direct connection to what I'm painting. Most of the time I can't remember what I was listening to or watching while painting, but sometimes a memory will become so ingrained that, even a dozen years later, I can still remember that I was watching my DVDs of The X-Files while painting this picture. I can't remember the specific episodes, but it would have been shows during season 1 or 2, and looking at the green of the roof trim brings it all back.
Here are but a few well-remembered accompaniments:
I watched all of the movies I own concerning time travel while painting Brollies;
I watched the first few seasons of Saturday Night Live while painting much of my Field to Canvas series (the few I did in Arizona were accompanied by episodes of American Pickers and various FoodTV shows and an assortment of music);
Stationed in front of The Edward in downtown Picton last summer, I listened to a lot of Macedonian music while painting Daytime Version of Sleeve;
And, most recently, I watched a TON of Adam-12, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Neil Peart drumming (in his Taking Center Stage DVD) and listened to a lot of Garbage while working on my Barnscapes.
For me, while painting, silence is a no-no.
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