The Art of Listening:

Discovering the Connection Between Music and Painting

Sometimes, the most meaningful discoveries in art happen when we aren't looking for them.

I recently painted a large peony, commissioned as a gift for someone beginning a new chapter in their life. Her partner shared a little of her story with me, along with details about her new home, her favourite colour and the musical artist they both love. He even sent me some of their favourite songs and a few lyrics that held special meaning for them. It was a first for me and I had no idea how much it would add to my painting process.

I’ve always known that art and music are closely connected but had never considered intentionally pairing them. For years, I've painted with something playing in the background. Podcasts, videos, television and music have kept me company in my studio. It was simply part of my routine, something I hardly thought about. This time though, I wasn’t listening to fill the silence, I was listening to enter the emotional world of who I was painting for. I listened to the songs that she connected too most and found myself exploring that singer's entire collection, discovering other songs and returning to certain favourites again and again. Some days, I played the same songs on repeat, almost as if I was learning a new language. Through that language, I found myself resonating. I wasn’t just painting a flower in her favourite colour, I was painting for a woman whose story I had been entrusted with, whose favourite music offered me a glimpse into her emotional world. The music helped me connect to her story without needing to know every detail of it. 

There is a concept in psychology called flow state which describes deep absorption in an activity, where attention becomes so focused that the separation between thinking and doing begins to fade. I believe that is what I was experiencing while creating this piece. I found myself painting differently. My movements became looser, more expressive. It felt as though I were moving within the paint and dancing across the canvas, rather than consciously directing every stroke. I began noticing unexpected shapes in the petals, including one that seemed to resemble a face. Little details emerged that I hadn't planned or deliberately set out to create. My strokes felt intuitive, the music influenced how I was moving and my movements, in turn, influenced how I was painting. 

I have always felt a connection to my paintings and to the people for whom I create. That connection is one of the reasons I love painting commissions. But this experience felt different and left me wondering how much our emotional experiences influence the way we create, even when we aren't consciously aware of it. Music like art, holds so much of who we are, it can carry memories, moods and feelings that we sometimes struggle to articulate. Listening to someone’s favourite song doesn’t tell me everything about them, but it can offer a meaningful point of connection. And perhaps, when I allow myself to listen closely, some of that emotion finds its way into the work that I create.

I don't know whether every painting will bring about the same experience, and I don't think it needs to. Each commission is different, just as each person and each story is different. But this experience has opened my eyes to a new possibility in my art practice, and it's something I want to continue exploring.

An invitation to my collectors,​

Moving forward, I'd love to invite you to share music with me when commissioning a painting. It might be a favourite song,

a meaningful lyric, an artist you love, or a piece of music that reminds you of the person, pet, place, or memory behind your painting. There is absolutely no obligation and you don't need to have a special reason for choosing it. If music is meaningful to you or to the person receiving your painting, I'd love to listen while I work. I can't promise that every song will change the way I paint, but I would love to discover what might emerge when music becomes part of my creative process.

Art has always been about more than what we see. For me, it's also about what we feel, what we remember and what we connect to. Sometimes, a painting begins with an idea, a photograph or a treasured memory.  

Perhaps, sometimes, it can also begin with a song.

Thank you for supporting my work. I look forward to discovering where the music might take us,

Cristina