Inspired By Cinder Road - Untitled

This piece was created while listening to the album "Superhuman" by the band Cinder Road. Cinder Road are a Rock band from Lutherville, MD.

Web

8x11 Using Watercolors

This piece was created while listening to the album "Scream Aim Fire" by Bullet For My Valentine. They are a Metal band from Bridgend, Wales.

Inspird By Nocturnal Rites - Untitled 2

8x11 Using Watercolors

Here is another piece came together while listening to the albums "The 8th Sin" and "Grand Illusion," both by Nocturnal Rites. Nocturnal Rites are a Swedish Power Metal band.

Inspird By Nocturnal Rites - Untitled

8x11 Using Watercolors

This piece came together while listening to the albums "The 8th Sin" and "Grand Illusion," both by Nocturnal Rites. Nocturnal Rites are a Swedish Power Metal band.

Inspired By The Sword - Untitled

8x11 Using Watercolors

This piece was created while listening to the album "Gods Of This Earth" by the band The Sword. They are a heavy metal band that come from Austin, TX.

Inspired By Pagan's Mind - Untitled

8x11 Using Watercolors

This piece was inspired by the album "Celestial Entrance" by the band Pagan's Mind. They are a Power Metal/Progressive Metal band from Skien, Norway.

Inspired By Damone - Untitled

8x11 Using Watercolors

The inspiration for this piece came to me while listening to the album "Out Here All Night" by the band Damone. They are a hard rock/glam metal act that came into my awareness through BringBackGlam.com.

Static-X Inspired - Untitled 2

8x11 Using Watercolors

This piece came to me while listening to the album "Wisconsin Death Trip" by the Industrial Metal band Static-X.

Trivium Inspired - Untitled 2

8x11 Using Watercolors

The idea for this piece came to me while listening to the band Trivium's album "Shogun."

Volcano

8x11 Using Watercolors

The inspiration for this piece came to me while listening to the album "Ultra Beatdown" by the British Power Metal band DragonForce.

My Music My Muse

I've already mentioned that music is visual for me, which includes all music, regardless of style. Some may be wondering why I chose Hard Rock and Heavy Metal to be my artistic muse. To understand that you have to look back at a shy 12 year old girl who hears two pieces of music for the first time. The first was Pink Floyd's “The Wall” and the second was Deep Purple's “Smoke On The Water.” They were a revelation for me because the were so different from either the top forty music or the country music I was used to hearing.

I would spend my teens exploring various parts of the Rock N Roll landscape, discovering Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Cyndi Lauper, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden and many others. I listen to a wide variety of music but as I got out of my teens I drawn strongest to the harder edge of the Rock spectrum. So when I went looking for new inspiration for my art, it was natural to turn to my Hard Rock and Metal.

When I create a piece of art, I try to do it in one sitting. I pick an album and artist randomly and see what images come into my head. I don't analyze them at all, but instead try and put them directly on paper as they are. Its a form of visual free association. If a painting takes longer than the album, I goto another album by the same artist. I have found that Hard Rock and Metal give me the most vibrant patterns and interesting colors combinations.

After I'm done, I'm often surprised by how placid some of my painting look. Metal is associated with images of skulls and fire and epic battles between demons. My mind seems drawn to more abstract patterns and flashes of colors.

I can't say how long I'll keep on using this approach. I plan to continue painting and follow this wherever it leads.

Stump

8x11 Using Watercolors

The beginnings of this piece came to me while listening to Edguy's compilation "Rocket Ride." Edguy are a power metal band that hails from Fulda, Germany.

Power Lines

8x11 Using Watercolors

The idea for this piece came to me while listening to the Greek Power Metal band Firewind. I recently discovered them via their album "Allegiance."

Gate

8x11 Using Watercolors

The idea for this piece occurred while listening to the Def Leppard compilation "Rock Of Ages."

Treads

8x11 Using Watercolors

This piece was inspired by Static-X's album "Wisconsin Death Trip."

Waves

8x11 Using Watercolors

The idea for this piece occurred while listening to Sonata Arctica's album "Reckoning Night."

Untitled - Inspired By Firewind

8x11 Using Watercolors

The idea for this piece came to me while listening to Firewind's album Allegiance. This is the second piece I've done with my new set of Koi Watercolors which I purchased from DickBlick.com. I had a set years ago and always like the intensity of the colors.

I thought I'd take this post to explain what I mean when I say an album inspired a piece. Basically, when I listen to music I see a Kaleidoscope of colors in my head. I try to take the images and colors that come to my mind when I listen to an album and put them on paper or canvas. It's visual free association.

Storm In Motion

8x11 Using Watercolors.

The idea for this piece came to me while listening to the song "I'll Cast A Shadow" by Pantera. This piece is actually a bit darker and the colors a bit more intense than this scan reflects.

Untitled - Inspired By Icarus Witch

8x11 Using Watercolors

The idea for this piece came to me while listening to the song "Out For Blood" by Icarus Witch.

Untitled - Inspired By Hammerfall

8x11 Using Watercolors

This piece was created while listening to Hammerfall's album "Glory To The Brave."