Music to paint to

music to paint to

What music do you paint to? And does music help set the mood for your painting?

Since I’m doing more fantasy pinup art, I like music that helps the setting.

I have eclectic tastes. They range from pretty heavy to pretty deep. But a lot of my music totally fits my paintings’ themes.

Heavy Metal is great music to paint to

“What? You paint to Heavy Metal?”

Of course I paint to Heavy Metal. What other genre even touches fantasy a fraction of what Metal does?

I paint a lot of fantasy femme fatales. Metal music totally fits the attitude that these bad girls have.

From the Golden Age of Metal, I love Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, etc. Recently, I like HIM, High on Fire, Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, and Nightwish.

All these bands have both lyrics and attitudes that totally fit my bad girls.

Non-Metal music that I love to paint to

Sometimes, I need something softer. For those moods, Loreena McKinnett, Blackmore’s Night, Enya, and random Celtic stations from the Internet radio do wonders for my paintings.

McKinnett and Blackmore’s Night especially. Their lyrics and moods are totally fantasy. For painting background music, they’re downright awesome.

Celtic music is great music! It’s just so alive. So real.

For random background music, I’ll take Celtic music above anything else. I’ve bought CDs from live Celtic acts we’ve seen anywhere from Celtic pubs to farmers’ markets. I don’t have a drop of Irish blood. But I sure love their music. (And their women!)

Classical music

And of course Classical music. Except I’m quite particular when it comes to Classical. I love the Romantic era. If you’re wondering who they are – Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, Mendelssohn, Chopin, etc.

They all had themes and sometimes even the characters that I paint. I would have loved to have been alive back then and heard that music while the composers were still alive. Imagine being alive to see your heroes actually conducting their own music!

So what about you?

What do you paint to? Does your music fit your painting? Why or why not? And, does it make a difference?

Photo credits

Loreena McKennitt – performing at the InterCeltic Festival at Lorient, Brittany in August 2008. Photographed by Maelor
Blackmore’s Night – live at the Tarrytown Music Hall, October 2012. Photographed by Nsoveiko
Beethoven – Painting by Mähler, 1815
Judas Priest – Live in 2005 Moline, Illinois. Photograph by Zach Petersen
Tchaikovsky painted by Nikolai Dimitriyevich Kuznetsov

Published
Categorized as Musings

By Roman

Pinup Artist. Composer. Writer.

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