Do you listen/talk while you paint?
 

When I am sitting at my easel, I used to listen to classical music - until September 11th. From that point on, I have been addicted to NPR (National Public Radio).

If I have any company in my studio, I can easily paint and chat at the same time, as long as the subject is not about what is happening on the canvas.

I have friends who cannot concentrate unless there is complete silence and I am wondering about the work habits of other artists.

Karin,

I too am a HUGE fan of NPR and always have been. Riders in the Sky, Garrison Keillor, Click & Clack - ah yes! Music is a MUST, mostly jazz, blues, "smooth jazz", bluegrass, classical, the list goes on. Even though I prefer to actually sit down and READ, I also listen to books on tape occasionally. Actually, listening to "Angela's Ashes" being read by Frank McCourt himself (unabridged) was thoroughly enjoyable. I could NEVER (with my inner voice) master his wonderful Irish brogue! TV doesn't work, because I wind up watching more than I should. Shame on me! Take care.

I like NPR too, but I usually listen to it in my office at work. They switch between the news and classical music on the same station here. At night when I am painting, I don't really care what is on. Sometimes I play CD's, sometimes I listen to a radio program, sometimes I have the TV on, but that can be distracting. If I choose TV it's usually because I feel lonesome, and I put on some old movie I've seen oodles of times (like Jane Eyre) so I don't have to take my eyes off what I am doing to watch. It goes through my head as I listen. But to tell the truth, there are times I start painting and get so involved, I don't even realize nothing is on. It's like coming out of a coma when you've been painting awhile. Oh, gee, what time is it? I block everything out if I really get into it.

Music to my ears
 

Fingerstyle guitar music is my favorite listen, in particular Bill Mize and Leo Kotke. They take me to a whole other level. In New York there is a great FM station, WFUV, which is the public radio station of Fordham University. They play a great eclectic mix of music which is primarily singer songwriter oriented. If you're interested they are streaming online at http://www.wfuv.org/.

This is an interesting topic since my boys are home for the summer! I can't talk to someone while I'm painting, and everyone in the house knows not to ask me a question while I'm painting if they want a coherent answer. The ideal situation for me is to be alone listening to classical or New Age music while I paint.

Renee Price

Marvin, thanks for the WFUV link. I used to listen to that station on business trips to northern New Jersey and had trouble remembering the name/location. Ironically 90.7 is our local access to Temple NPR, where I get Classic in the daytime and Jazz in the evening. It sounds as though you might also enjoy Bela Fleck, who has a CD out, "Live at the Quick", that includes his usual range of jazz, bluegrass and the like on the banjo, and also includes eastern Indian vocals and a Bach Violin Partita (on his banjo). How about that for eclectic.

I usually don't have visitors to my studio and don't plan on painting when I do. Short interruptions by family are not a problem and having worked and schooled in environments where ongoing discussion was the norm I sometimes find working alone disconcerting.

My companions are the folks at NPR and my ipod, where I have saved things distinctive and unique such as Bela Fleck, the Belgium Women's Chorus, classical harmonica and Rahsaan Rolan Kirk playing jazz on three saxophones at the same time. Willie Nelson and Frankie Yankovic's polkas are sometimes on the playlist as well.

Classical music seems to tighten me up and I find it impossible to listen to the Texaco Opera and paint and therefore painting stops on Saturday afternoons.

For you NPR people don't miss This American Life and Schickele Mix.

And sometimes I work in the full quiet of the studio without even realizing that "nothing is turned on". I can handle it.

Administrator's Note: ipod is Mac's MP3 player /recorder that will also allow you to store presentations, pictures, documents and digital movies.

I listen to NPR exclusively lately. Funny, Karin, I hadn't put the two together, but it has been since 9/11. I'm a child of the 60's. Rock and roll, blues, etc. had always been my sound of choice until I began to paint seriously. Now it's Chopin and friends. But I've discovered that I can create, almost magically, late night weekends listening to "Hearts of Space." I purchased J. Arif Verner's "Through the Timeless."

At the risk of sounding like a "flake", after a 4-hour session, while listening to meditation pieces while I work, I stand back and exclaim, "WOW, How did I or Who did that!!!" That's the best way to explain what happens. I dunno, but I'm going to keep doing what works.!

Unabridged tapes
 

"Books on Tape" unabridged from the library. Tons of choices. I can listen passively all day and do. Our house is always busy and loud and my studio is in the house (but I have brick walls).

I can talk sometimes, depends on the subject. As I go into tough parts, I'm told my speech starts to sound like, "Yes, well, I was uhhh...I mean... well...what was the question?"

I been trying to learn French but there's no way to do that and paint. Uses the same part of the brain, I quess. I can drive and learn French. Go figure.

I am amazed that so many of you can listen to things that require any part of your brain to pay attention and paint at the same time! Anything more challenging than slow classical or New Age music and I can't concentrate at all. I don't like to paint in silence, though. Slow music tends to quiet my conscious thought process so I can go into that "zone" where most artists seem to work from.

My kids are also home for the summer from elementary school and as soon as I hear "Mommy! She's not sharing!", my concentration's gone. I don't know how much painting I'll get done this summer!

I generally paint with my right hand, so with my left, I juggle fruit.

NPR rocks
 

Listening to music helps me paint better - I am convinced!

I listen to NPR classical when they are playing chamber music (no big orchestration numbers because they make me paint too fast) and tapes I have made of a local NPR Sunday night Jazz show (Tom the Jazz Man) as well as Thistle and Shamrock.

I have to have something playing, mostly jazz. Miles Davis is great to listen to while you paint; also Anuna, the Riverdance famed singing minstrels. All great to paint with! I listen to many other jazz vocalists, mostly women like Sarah Vaughn or Nora Jones.

I do not listen to any sort of rock (which I love) or talk shows; for the same reason Michelle mentioned; takes too much concentration away from my painting (which needs all it can get!)

If someone comes in, I have to stop painting or make big mistakes!

When I paint in open studio, from life, I LOVE to have artist banter. By this, I mean chit-chat, not substantive discussion. When I am alone in my own studio, I want QUIET. People ask me if I play music when I paint, and my respose is "Why bother?" Any sound I generally disregard after about five minutes or so, which is about how long it takes me to devolve, as it were, into the "zone."

The only exception to this is a "thunderstorm" CD I occasionally listen to, (mainly in the summer), where I darken my studio, and pretend that the hellacious, relentless, and dreadfully dry summer heat does not exist. (For those of you who have never spent a summer in Phoenix, we live without Daylight Savings time. The sun begins to rise about 4:30 AM, and at that time the temperature is often already 90 degrees. By 4:00 PM it's generally about 109 degrees, and not a cloud in the sky. At midnight, we have relief, down to about 90 degrees.)

Quiet is definitely my preferred way of life.

I have a hard time holding a conversation with real humans, but have no trouble interacting with whatever discussion is going on NPR (to myself, out loud; I talk to myself a lot.) Other than that, Yo-Yo Ma, Grateful Dead, Andrea Bocelli, books on tape, or just the sound of the fountains outside my studio. I could NEVER work at home. Bless you guys that have in-home studio with kids. My little guy never stops chattering...the worst part is that he needs answers to his questions. Saying "uh-huh" doesn't work with Luke!

I usually paint at my mall studio, but I always like interruptions, actually, as it gives me a rest from the concentraton. An interruption generally means a ten minute sketch, or a customer question. The music there is a mix of oldies and conmtempory Muzak.

Anyone ever listen to WRI (World Radio Network)? It is an interesting network of European stations featuring stories of the news of that country and some local color. I love to hear about other cultures and lifestyles. Amazing what I have learned by listening in to WRI.

Mike,

I give piano lessons while I paint. (grin)

Chris,

The "Thunderstorm CD"...what an anomaly. If you don't get a storm for a while, get the CD! I have several rain-type CD's (like I need them in Florida) and listen to them rather than music. The best for me is "Atlantic Suite". It has all the sounds of the Atlantic coast from ocean to wildlife. I can only pay attention to one thing at a time, so less music is better.

Lon,

I've kept some of your posts regarding your mall biz and have seen your setup. I plan to do that on weekends in the fall of this year to sharpen my skills and query the market in my area.

Regards all,
Morris

I always listen to music. Marvin, I noticed you listen to fingerstyle guitar. I too love to listen to fingerstyle guitar (lots) - contemporary as well as classical guitar. Sometimes I attempt to play it, but not at the same time I'm painting. I also listen to contemporary Christian music, jazz guitar, classical music and some rock every now and then.

I am only part-time at the moment so my painting time is limited, but sometimes my wife will come in and talk to me which doesn't seem to bother me at all. Also, I paint in a small bedroom (which I have totally dedicated to a studio) and most of the time I have my 3 year old son Casey wanting to paint with me. Good thing his paints are washable. Though he has never messed with my paintings, the floor does get its fair share of painting.

Kent

I usually listen to CDs. Some favorites are Andrea Bocelli, Chant (chants by Franciscan monks)- mostly classical things. I sometimes listen to the Beatles and Santana. I get tired of changing the CDs and usually, after a while, I don't hear it anyway. The other day, after a couple of hours, I realized the same CD was playing over and over. It was Medieval music: very nice, but I had probably tuned it out.

I can't paint when another human is there, but the dog doesn't seem to mind.

I like listening when I paint. Often it has an effect on what I am doing. I try to make sure that I listen to the appropriate subject matter so that my painting won't send mixed messages. If I attempt to listen and do reading or bill paying than I find that I've missed or blocked out what was being played or broadcasted. Having the TV on is a time waster as I can't seem to pull my eyes away from it and concentrate on the work.

I also find the TV to be a huge "sucker of time". If I don't watch it, several hours have passed by and I realize I have to get to work. It is better for me to just turn it off.

I have no problem talking with visitors to my studio once I have the work blocked in; that's what's hardest and takes the most concentration. The rest is just fun. My grown daughter sometimes wanders in to chat when she's visiting, and my grown son sometimes brings a girlfriend in to see what's going on and to watch. My five-year-old granddaughter has developed enough concentration that she can work at her easel long enough to make it worth my while to start to paint while she's there. (I do have an old plastic shower curtain under her easel to protect the floor from her spatters, though. Less for me to worry about.)

For Mother's Day I asked for a player that could handle multiple CDs and had autoreverse for tapes. That seems to be a confusing concept and I got continuous play instead, which isn't the same thing at all. So we went back to Best Buy and did find what I wanted. The contraption plays three CDs in sequence and I can set it to replay them all; the tape player will loop indefinitely as well. That way I don't have to keep putting down my brushes and deciding what next to hear. Somehow I don't like the radio as much; there's too much on there that I don't care for, and I prefer soft rock and other vocals to classical music when I paint. I do get into a zone but not to the extent that I don't hear the music, and it helps relax me and let me focus on my work. I could never watch television while I painted, or engage in a complex philosophical discussion, either, but I can listen and add the odd comment.

Well, this has been interesting reading everyone's choices. I listen to any music, CD's, radio etc.. If it is radio, then I use the sleep button, so every hour it turns itself off, then I press the button again. It helps me know how long I have spent in the studio, so I don't forget to be somewhere.

Tim, cool that you are learning French; I am also, and often listen to my tapes whilst painting. I couldn't watch TV at the same time though. And when my family tries to talk to me (usually just as I paint my first stroke) I turn into grunting blob!

Vangelis's "Mythodea" and Sarah Brightman's "La Luna" are my latest obsessions. I have to have music or I start writing my autobiography in my head. I usully listen to piano or violin concertos. What I hear very much influences how I paint. I cannot talk and paint, which makes life difficult when I teach and I am trying to explain something while I demonstrate. All sorts of strange utterances! I haven't tried juggling fruit but I have juggled babies and pottery. Does that count?

I have tried TV, big no-no, because I eventually realize that I'm watching rather than working. I can't comment on 911 except to say that I prefer not to know what is happening in the world on a second-by-second basis these days. My most creative time was three years living in Papua, New Guinea when we had one radio station, no TV and Australian newspapers a week old. Heaven!