Music for creative time

[CitizenErased]

I like most of the stuff that you mentioned. My favourite composers are generally Romantics. Wagner, Brahms, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Mahler. I can't choose among them. My favourite works would probably be Beethoven's 9th symphony, Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto, the requiems by Faure, Dvorak, and Brahms, Mahler's 5th, Tchaikovsky's Pathetique and Manfred Symphony.

My stories focus mostly on hope and despair (Cheesy. I know). I'm focusing most of my efforts on two novels which I will finish in the next five years or so.

One is a fantasy story, and it is an attempt at a sympathetic but critical examination of human nature achieved via a dive into the collective unconscious and a lost Arcadian golden age. It's about such things as the dissonance between the ideal and the real. Of tragedy and resignation, the dying world-heart, and the vigour of life.

The other is dystopian/sci-fi speculative fiction. It's about a future in which humanity's manifold attempts to obtain utopia have imploded. It's about collective disillusionment and collective learned helplessness. It's about a revival of humanity's fighting spirit, and its futile death throes in the face of impending apocalypse. Of bold desperation and fighting defiantly to the very end.

How about you? What are your stories about?

Dvorak's awesome too! For some reason I have trouble listening to Beethoven because it changes my mood to "the ugly side".

Nah, I don't think any topic is cheesy. The approach can be cheesy or not. You already know when you're going to finish your novels?! I've started more than five and they're all about 100 pages (but like at a quarter of the story). Going a bit on a tangent, I have some questions regarding the writing process:

a) Do you write the outline of the stories beforehand? I write it because when I come up with an idea for a novel, I see the story as a movie in my head, but in like 10 minutes, so I have to rush to the computer while making notes on a papaer before it goes away. And I'm very detailed about what I saw in my head, so my plot is something like "1 Title/1.1 Main character.... / 1.34.27 The tree of the sidewalk is a willow and is bent slightly to the right...", so I just write the novel on the same file, developing each bulletpoint. Obsessive, I know.

b) Do you skip parts or write it without "interruptions"? I skip descriptions I don't want to write at the moment, so I mark [write description of room - see PLOT #2.76.1-65] in the text. I also skip "scenes" because I'm eager to write another that's four chapters later.

c) How do you build your stories? I think them backwards. First I start with the most important part of the story (a catastrophe or that moment the story changes 180° degrees, or something mind-blowing is revealed) and then start wondering why that happened, or how did the characters arrived to that situation. I imagine the scene and then I wonder why I chose everything to be the way it is and make a series of questions about each of them, until I find an interesting question, so I answer it in another scene and so forth until the beginning. Then I tell the story in order, but that way I make sure there are no loopholes and the story stays interesting.

d) How much importance do you give to the creation of the characters' personality? I think of them as generic dolls and then start stuffing them with traits both inside and outside, I "customize" them until I like them. Then I draw them to see how they'd look together interacting, change their clothes, eye colour, etc, and when I'm satisfied, I start the story.

Okay, back to your question (I love the word "manifold", btw).

I don't have any topic like hope/despair that appears in all my novels. I think the only characteristic that they have in common is that they have a character that is obsessed with something and they think they have a crappy life (maybe I'm projecting).

One is about a dystopian world but moments before it becomes dystopian, because, when I started writing it, I thought there were too many novels in which the dystopian world was already settled and the authors let you know in two or three lines how the world we know became that way, which isn't interesting for me. I like the "why". Maybe that's another characteristic my novels have in common.

Most of the novels I wrote are more "domestic tragedies" than world-wide scenarios. There's another one about a diary of a guy that is obsessed with something and the entries have a peculiar order. Then another one of a guy that fakes his death, but that one I abandoned it because when I wrote the scene in which the friends find he's "committed suicide", I got sad because I had spent a lot of time "designing" him and now he was gone for half of what was left of the novel, haha. And another one about an actor and the resemblance/dissonance between his real life and the play he's in (I had to -sort of- write the play within the novel).

 

[PerpetuallyScreaming]

Thanks!! I didn't imagine it would be perceived as a "quality" thread. i feel proud now!



I use Sai too (well, not exactly now because my brother "stole" my tablet to not use it), but as you can open .psd files there, I come and go with the file between Sai and Photoshop, depending on what I want to do to the drawing (for example Sai has a better blurring tool). It's true that Photoshop is sometimes messy to work with, but once you get used to, it can be useful. What do you draw?

What do you write? I'd love to animate but I sincerely don't have the patience to do it.



With drawing I think I just need to be in a "creative mood", and music helps, but I don't think I choose specific songs to create certain mood. I do that with writing because I need characters to have different feelings and settings to "emit" certain sensation. The sound of the rain... I love rain... even better a thunderstorm. I like the sound of the ocean but I get tired after a while (unless I'm in front of a real-life ocean because I can match the sound to the types of waves and such).



I make playlists all the time. I don't know if every week, but I have Youtube playlists named as characters or drawings, so when I come back to writing/drawing, I can go back to the mental "mood" I had when I stopped creating.



No problem, I repeat myself all the time because I like replying to everyone individually. Cool, thanks for the songs, I'll be checking them out today



Don't worry, I understood perfectly (nonsensical metaphors are my native language, haha). I think in my case it's more about the instruments and the voice intonation than the lyrics. When I learn the melody of the song halfway through it I start humming it so I don't even hear what the lyrics say. In other moments of life, lyrics are important to me, but I don't think this is the case. I believe it's about taking the essence of the song and seeing what other "product" (as in creation based on it) you can come up with. And it's funny to think that a song's essence can be taken to so many formats, and even mean different things to different people.



Not to repeat myself either, I'll just say I definitely agree it's distracting to find songs you might potentially dislike, especially after hearing that is perfect for the moment.

Oh, I see. Personally I find Photoshop way too limiting and hard to work with. It doesn't follow my intuitive drawing instincts at all. Plus I'm just really used to SAI.

Here are some examples of my art:



As far as writing goes, I've tried to write stories before and hope to write a book one day, but we'll see. I suppose mostly at the moment I just take notes for possible ideas, or write occasional journal entries that I can revisit later.

I must warn you that when it comes to being creative, I like songs that are somewhat dark. I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry in particular has a very dark story and lyrics even though it sounds cutesy, so as to avoid trouble I thought that should be said. Don't want to unwittingly make you upset. :/

Heh heh, that's good to know. I'm glad I can make sense even when I'm extremely tired. Note to self: don't type in the middle of the night while half-asleep. It won't end well.

Yeah, for sure.

 

[Abendrot]

Nah, I don't think any topic is cheesy. The approach can be cheesy or not. You already know when you're going to finish your novels?! I've started more than five and they're all about 100 pages (but like at a quarter of the story). Going a bit on a tangent, I have some questions regarding the writing process:

I'll tell you up front that I'm pretty bad, as I've only been writing seriously for about a year, but I'll answer for what it's worth. Hold on a minute though, five ? How do you work on five books at the same time? I thought that two was a lot. About knowing when I'll finish, yeah it's a long term plan, but I am very certain. If they don't turn out well, I will go back and improve them.

a) Do you write the outline of the stories beforehand? I write it because when I come up with an idea for a novel, I see the story as a movie in my head, but in like 10 minutes, so I have to rush to the computer while making notes on a papaer before it goes away. And I'm very detailed about what I saw in my head, so my plot is something like "1 Title/1.1 Main character.... / 1.34.27 The tree of the sidewalk is a willow and is bent slightly to the right...", so I just write the novel on the same file, developing each bulletpoint. Obsessive, I know.

I can relate somewhat. My visual/spatial abilities are not quite so good. For me it's not so much a movie as it is a series of fuzzy evocative images. There are some specific details, but it's more about the thematic content and feelings that the image evokes. I write down the general details of the scene, then flesh out the scene based on what feels right. I see the plot and form as the vessel or the packaging though, so I put more thought into layering underlying meanings that tie in to the central message. I'm probably learning to run before I can walk though, as good dialogue is probably the most important single thing for a book, and I need to work on that first.

Obsessive? That is a sign of passion. I'm obsessive as well. For example, most of the books or movies I've read/watched in the last 6 months or so was for the express purpose of serving as inspirational material for my books.
I know what you mean about rushing to the computer. Do you use a writing app? Ever heard of an IOS app called Ulysses? It's very handy especially if you have an Ipad. It lets you keep track of all your ideas and writing for all your stories.

b) Do you skip parts or write it without "interruptions"? I skip descriptions I don't want to write at the moment, so I mark [write description of room - see PLOT #2.76.1-65] in the text. I also skip "scenes" because I'm eager to write another that's four chapters later.

Yeah I do things exactly the same way eg. [Insert rousing speech by X here]. I have the whole general outline of the books ready. I work on the scenes generally in chronological order, but a lot of them are spaced out, and it slowly comes together like a jigsaw puzzle.

c) How do you build your stories? I think them backwards. First I start with the most important part of the story (a catastrophe or that moment the story changes 180° degrees, or something mind-blowing is revealed) and then start wondering why that happened, or how did the characters arrived to that situation. I imagine the scene and then I wonder why I chose everything to be the way it is and make a series of questions about each of them, until I find an interesting question, so I answer it in another scene and so forth until the beginning. Then I tell the story in order, but that way I make sure there are no loopholes and the story stays interesting.

Seems like you build the stories on plot twists. For me, it branches out, forward and backward. I use a top-down approach. I start with a hazy idea of the overall statement I want to convey for the work as a whole. Then I get a rough idea of the major characters. Then I come up with a large plot outline, and a list of major themes, and then I piece together the major plot events and twists, then expand them into specific scenes. At each step of the process I constantly zoom out and make sure that the fine details resonate with the big picture, and modify the top portion as it begins to take shape. Eventually, I end up with dozens of pages of notes like these. Then I write a scene while noting down my ideas for other scenes, then adjoin the scenes and so on. There are no gaps in the process and no surprises. This is part of the reason that I know that I'm going to finish.

d) How much importance do you give to the creation of the characters' personality? I think of them as generic dolls and then start stuffing them with traits both inside and outside, I "customize" them until I like them. Then I draw them to see how they'd look together interacting, change their clothes, eye colour, etc, and when I'm satisfied, I start the story.

A LOT. I usually start by envisioning the essence of a character and what they represent. Then I flesh them out in a similar way as you do. But I use things like voice journals (Emulating your characters and writing down their thoughts.) I also usually put a bit of an alter-ego of myself or someone I know or other people/characters into them so that I can relate to them better. Can you relate to your characters without doing something along those lines? Unfortunately I can't draw, so sometimes I'll be browsing the internet, and happen to see the face of a celebrity or something, and then it will suddenly connect with me and I'll say: "That's my character!" It is shameless appropriation, but it works for me. A face helps to give the character a sort of life of their own.

Okay, back to your question (I love the word "manifold", btw).

I don't have any topic like hope/despair that appears in all my novels. I think the only characteristic that they have in common is that they have a character that is obsessed with something and they think they have a crappy life (maybe I'm projecting).

One is about a dystopian world but moments before it becomes dystopian, because, when I started writing it, I thought there were too many novels in which the dystopian world was already settled and the authors let you know in two or three lines how the world we know became that way, which isn't interesting for me. I like the "why". Maybe that's another characteristic my novels have in common.

Most of the novels I wrote are more "domestic tragedies" than world-wide scenarios. There's another one about a diary of a guy that is obsessed with something and the entries have a peculiar order. Then another one of a guy that fakes his death, but that one I abandoned it because when I wrote the scene in which the friends find he's "committed suicide", I got sad because I had spent a lot of time "designing" him and now he was gone for half of what was left of the novel, haha. And another one about an actor and the resemblance/dissonance between his real life and the play he's in (I had to -sort of- write the play within the novel).

Some projection is inevitable; writing is self expression after all. Your stories sound angsty. Say, have you read books like Wuthering Heights, The Hunchback of Notre Dame or Faust? If you haven't read them, they might help. They're all about obsession and are exceptionally angsty.
Indeed there have been too many dystopian novels written already. It's the same for me. One of my works in progress, it's an exposition of how and why something resembling a Garden of Eden becomes something akin to Sheol or Hades over a span of a few decades.

The good thing about smaller scale things like "domestic tragedies" is that you can focus a lot more on the subtleties. My large-scale stories will have a natural tendency toward the bombastic, and unless I control it well, it will reek of ineptitude. I know how it feels to kill off a character you love. It's gut wrenching isn't it? But one feels almost as if it has to be done and it is "Deus Vult".

 

[CitizenErased]

Oh, I see. Personally I find Photoshop way too limiting and hard to work with. It doesn't follow my intuitive drawing instincts at all. Plus I'm just really used to SAI.

Here are some examples of my art:

View attachment 17024View attachment 17025View attachment 17026View attachment 17027

As far as writing goes, I've tried to write stories before and hope to write a book one day, but we'll see. I suppose mostly at the moment I just take notes for possible ideas, or write occasional journal entries that I can revisit later.

I must warn you that when it comes to being creative, I like songs that are somewhat dark. I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry in particular has a very dark story and lyrics even though it sounds cutesy, so as to avoid trouble I thought that should be said. Don't want to unwittingly make you upset. :/

Heh heh, that's good to know. I'm glad I can make sense even when I'm extremely tired. Note to self: don't type in the middle of the night while half-asleep. It won't end well.

Yeah, for sure.

The guy that taught me how to draw on the computer would use SAI too, so I learned with it, so I'm used to it too.

Wow, nice!! I like the third drawing, and the sky blue uner the eyes! I don't have my drawings here, but my avatar is one of them.

Ah, don't worry, I like dark ideas. Plus I write in a very dark tone too. If you can read Victor Hugo without crying, you can go through everything.

I feel more "deep" when I write while half-asleep. I mean, the redacton is not pristine, but the ideas are better...

 

[PerpetuallyScreaming]

The guy that taught me how to draw on the computer would use SAI too, so I learned with it, so I'm used to it too.

Wow, nice!! I like the third drawing, and the sky blue uner the eyes! I don't have my drawings here, but my avatar is one of them.

Ah, don't worry, I like dark ideas. Plus I write in a very dark tone too. If you can read Victor Hugo without crying, you can go through everything.

I feel more "deep" when I write while half-asleep. I mean, the redacton is not pristine, but the ideas are better...

Thank you~

Good to know. I kind of do that to an extent too, but it's more like I'm too tired to see all the inevitable flaws and mistakes that make me want to destroy everything I've ever made, so when I'm awake I find that realization, haaaaa.

 

[CitizenErased]

I'll tell you up front that I'm pretty bad, as I've only been writing seriously for about a year, but I'll answer for what it's worth. Hold on a minute though, five ? How do you work on five books at the same time? I thought that two was a lot. About knowing when I'll finish, yeah it's a long term plan, but I am very certain. If they don't turn out well, I will go back and improve them.

It doesn't really matter! I write for myself. Maybe some day I'll consider submitting one on a contest, but for now, it's just making ideas tangible. Haha, those are the ones I've written, though I think all of them are unfinished. I write for a month, then leave it, start another, then pick up the first... I'm never going to finish them, haha I always plagiarize myself. As in, if there's something I wrote for a novel but somehow fits better in the new one, I utilize it, and then change the other novel. I write my novels on my computer but I keep a notebook for sentences I have between dreams or epiphanies I have in the subway so I can polish the ideas at home.

I can relate somewhat. My visual/spatial abilities are not quite so good. For me it's not so much a movie as it is a series of fuzzy evocative images. There are some specific details, but it's more about the thematic content and feelings that the image evokes. I write down the general details of the scene, then flesh out the scene based on what feels right. I see the plot and form as the vessel or the packaging though, so I put more thought into layering underlying meanings that tie in to the central message. I'm probably learning to run before I can walk though, as good dialogue is probably the most important single thing for a book, and I need to work on that first.

That's why I like writing prose-poems: I don't need dialogues... not even a story. Just mere 5-sense descriptions of "frames" I have in my mind. I wrote a complete novel without dialogue at all because I felt it sounded vulgar, haha. I think the trick is in reading a lot, and not only novel dialogues but plays also; you learn a lot about the dyamics between characters. Anyway, I always sieve my writings with my imagination, as in testing how it would sound in my movie-style thinking process to decide whether or not is viable or what parts don't sound right. I imagine them with different intonations or different arrangement of words until I find the right sentence.

Obsessive? That is a sign of passion. I'm obsessive as well. For example, most of the books or movies I've read/watched in the last 6 months or so was for the express purpose of serving as inspirational material for my books.
I know what you mean about rushing to the computer. Do you use a writing app? Ever heard of an IOS app called Ulysses? It's very handy especially if you have an Ipad. It lets you keep track of all your ideas and writing for all your stories.

Well, thanks, that makes me feel better, haha I'm very laid-back when it comes to my life but very nit-picking when talking about my creations. I'd rather do things right or not doing them at all. When I was "studying" for this novel of the obsessive guy I entered a forum that deals with those issues just to read people's experiences and what goes inside the head of an obsessive person, and how they feel when they don't get what they want, etc. I do a lot of research on how my characters "should" act according to their personalities, or how X building was done, so I can describe it well.

I don't like writing on the phone and I have like zero technology (except for my computer, an old phone and my graphics tablet). I'm more of a paper-and-pencil person.

Yeah I do things exactly the same way eg. [Insert rousing speech by X here]. I have the whole general outline of the books ready. I work on the scenes generally in chronological order, but a lot of them are spaced out, and it slowly comes together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Good to know I'm not the only one! I write chronologically but sometimes skip parts to write others that I feel like writing in the moment. Then I go back to where I left, and then I reread everything I "oil the joints" so the reading can flow.

Seems like you build the stories on plot twists. For me, it branches out, forward and backward. I use a top-down approach. I start with a hazy idea of the overall statement I want to convey for the work as a whole. Then I get a rough idea of the major characters. Then I come up with a large plot outline, and a list of major themes, and then I piece together the major plot events and twists, then expand them into specific scenes. At each step of the process I constantly zoom out and make sure that the fine details resonate with the big picture, and modify the top portion as it begins to take shape. Eventually, I end up with dozens of pages of notes like these. Then I write a scene while noting down my ideas for other scenes, then adjoin the scenes and so on. There are no gaps in the process and no surprises. This is part of the reason that I know that I'm going to finish.

I write stories with intense plot twists because that's the kind of story I like reading (applies to movies too). Hahaha, good point, no gaps in the process gives you predictability on when the work will be finished. There are apps that work with amounts of word per day. I tried one of those, but one day I'd write 600 words (a passing thought) and others 6000 in one sit, so I realized it didn't work for predictability. It did help in that you have to update everyday how much you wrote, so it creates the habit (something I don't have for anything in my life) of sitting down and concentrating just on that every day.

A LOT. I usually start by envisioning the essence of a character and what they represent. Then I flesh them out in a similar way as you do. But I use things like voice journals (Emulating your characters and writing down their thoughts.) I also usually put a bit of an alter-ego of myself or someone I know or other people/characters into them so that I can relate to them better. Can you relate to your characters without doing something along those lines? Unfortunately I can't draw, so sometimes I'll be browsing the internet, and happen to see the face of a celebrity or something, and then it will suddenly connect with me and I'll say: "That's my character!" It is shameless appropriation, but it works for me. A face helps to give the character a sort of life of their own.

I relate to all the characters. I always say that they're all me, because no matter how different they are from my real personality, I built them with my own ideas and biases (silly example: if I have to create a bad character, I'll do it based on what I think it's evil). What I do is act ("I", the writer) how each character would behave until I internalize them. My brother is an actor and he always makes me help him practice with his "impersonation". He makes an "outline" of the character and starts acting like him without the words of the play, just in the characer's normal life, and then applies his new personality to the script. I've taken that from him. Sounds crazy but it works!

Some projection is inevitable; writing is self expression after all. Your stories sound angsty. Say, have you read books like Wuthering Heights, The Hunchback of Notre Dame or Faust? If you haven't read them, they might help. They're all about obsession and are exceptionally angsty.
Indeed there have been too many dystopian novels written already. It's the same for me. One of my works in progress, it's an exposition of how and why something resembling a Garden of Eden becomes something akin to Sheol or Hades over a span of a few decades.

They are angsty, indeed. Yes, I've read them, except for The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, but I read The Man Who Laughs from the same author (it's not about obsession but equally angsty). Your novel sounds interesting. In 5 years, I want to know about it Actually I'm trying to find some books I want to read. The last I read is Notes from the Underground by Dostoyevski, and it's angst in all its potence. Now I'm looking for A Lover's Discourse by Roland Barthes and Diary of a Seducer by Kierkegaard.

The good thing about smaller scale things like "domestic tragedies" is that you can focus a lot more on the subtleties. My large-scale stories will have a natural tendency toward the bombastic, and unless I control it well, it will reek of ineptitude. I know how it feels to kill off a character you love. It's gut wrenching isn't it? But one feels almost as if it has to be done and it is "Deus Vult".

Indeed. I'm wondering how people see things in real life. From details to the big picture (zooming out) or from the big picture to the details (zooming in). I'm "obsessed" with details, that's why I had trouble writing my dystopian novel. I had to tell it from the biased perspective of a character to make it more "bearable". Indeed, it's terrible. I felt like I had murdered him in real life! I was thinking "sorry, that was what had to happen", but I abandoned the novel because every time I read the last scene I feel bad with myself, haha

 

[Abendrot]

It doesn't really matter! I write for myself. Maybe some day I'll consider submitting one on a contest, but for now, it's just making ideas tangible

Hey that's my motto! Don't nick it!

That's why I like writing prose-poems: I don't need dialogues... not even a story. Just mere 5-sense descriptions of "frames" I have in my mind. I wrote a complete novel without dialogue at all because I felt it sounded vulgar

Was it a screenplay of Kubrick's 2001?

When I was "studying" for this novel of the obsessive guy I entered a forum that deals with those issues just to read people's experiences and what goes inside the head of an obsessive person, and how they feel when they don't get what they want, etc.

That's cool, I should try something like that. It would be even better to talk to such people in person.

I do a lot of research on how my characters "should" act according to their personalities, or how X building was done, so I can describe it well.

Is this how you stumbled onto mbti?

He makes an "outline" of the character and starts acting like him without the words of the play, just in the characer's normal life, and then applies his new personality to the script. I've taken that from him. Sounds crazy but it works!

Doesn't sound crazy at all. I've wondered at times if you have to be a decent actor to be a good writer. You should read The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It's the darkest of them all. The man who laughs? It sounds sepulchral. There's another one for my reading list. One has to wonder how Hugo wrote these without killing himself, and then somehow wrote something so redeeming as to make the bitterest of cynics weep (Les Miserables). Notes from Underground? You don't say? How was it? That's one of the five or so books I'm reading right now. So far, I find it insufferable, but I'll finish it eventually.
In 5 years time? We'll see about that. Same goes for you if you get around to finishing your books.

 

[Hiraeth]

Been wanting to reply on this thread for a while, so here goes. I am a visual artist who has worked on various different mediums in the past, but only work with oil paints now. My work incorporates realism with fantasy and surrealism. A lot of it is based on an idea or image in my head and I keep adding things based on the theme I have in mind as I go. I'm very spontaneous and hate planning things thoroughly, but sometimes I have to compensate for that when I'm doing paintings for others or of real life people. I try to capture a certain emotion and meaning behind each piece, but I never explain anything to anybody because I hate having to do that, haha.

When I'm painting, I feel like I'm in my own little world and love listening to all kinds of music that can take me away into it. Most of the time I listen to music and the rest I’m either watching videos or podcasts or just working in silence. I love music mainly from the 1960s to early 2000s. I have a major distaste for current mainstream music and feel like I live under a rock because I am totally unfamiliar with a lot of the musicians of today despite the fact that I’m in my twenties, haha. I listen to mostly subgenres of various forms of rock music, like shoegaze, neopsychedelia, 70s progressive rock, 70s glam rock, avant garde/art rock, classic rock, 70s/80s punk, and other alternative/indie genres. I usually listen to my favorite songs on shuffle, whole albums, or playlists that accommodate my imagination.

The total list of artists I love is endless, so I’ll just post whatever comes to my mind at the moment: David Bowie, Syd Barrett, The Velvet Underground, The Kinks, The Beatles, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Spacemen 3, The Stone Roses, Suede, The Verve, Oasis, Blur, Manic Street Preachers, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Lush, Galaxie 500, the Cocteau Twins, Bjork, Sinead O'Connor, Depeche Mode, Black Flag, GG Allin, Bad Religion, Fugazi, Dinosaur Jr., Nirvana, Elliott Smith, Neutral Milk Hotel, Queen, Roxy Music, T. Rex, Mott the Hoople, Brian Eno, Sparks, Sweet, The New York Dolls, Black Sabbath, The Stooges, Dead Boys, The Ramones, Patti Smith, X-Ray Spex, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nina Hagen, Klaus Nomi, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Ween, Frank Zappa and the Mothers, Muddy Waters, Rory Gallagher, The Zombies, Emmylou Harris, Terry Reid, The Alan Parsons Project, Hawkwind, Genesis, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Can, Van der Graaf Generator, Gentle Giant, Edith Piaf, old delta blues like Robert Johnson and Leadbelly, and much more that I can't think of right now.

The mood of my paintings can reflect what I listen to while working on them. But I usually find myself listening to songs that reflect my own mood during the day, regardless of the feeling I'm trying to portray on canvas. Like if I'm painting one of the most depressing looking paintings I've ever done, if I'm feeling good that day, I can listen to some upbeat, overly perky music if I'm in the mood, even if it's an extremely melodramatic painting I'm working on.

I am very self-critical of my work and an extreme perfectionist to the point where sometimes I feel like I am a mad scientist pacing back and forth running mad. I have horrible OCD and feel like nothing is ever good enough. Time is my worst enemy, so I have to eventually end what I'm doing and move on.

I guess I'll post a few that I've done recently. I'm too shy to post full images of my paintings, so I'll just show small sections. I'll probably delete these later sometime.

Here's a section of an unusually colorful painting I did. I usually don't use this many neons, but somehow I just kept wanting to add more color.

View attachment 17044


Here's a few shots of a David Bowie piece I finished back sometime. I did listen to a lot of his music while working on it in order to get me in the mood to paint it and at the same time as a form of mourning. I know, I'm overly dramatic.
Here's a few sections of pretty good quality that I've found (I haven't taken a really good photo of the whole thing yet). Here's one when I was still working on it, and one with a warped view while I was adding glitter to the edges after I finished.

View attachment 17039

View attachment 17038


Here's a section I did recently of my friend and her son as a birthday gift for his first birthday.

View attachment 17034


And here's one I'm working on right now. The proportions are off, so I still have a lot of stuff to change around and render better.

View attachment 17036

View attachment 17042


And yeah, that's about all. I'm enjoying reading about everyone's artistic interests and music tastes. I love finding new music too, so this thread is awesome.

 

[CitizenErased]

Hey that's my motto! Don't nick it!

Who came up with it first? Hahaha, don't worry, I'll share it with you

Was it a screenplay of Kubrick's 2001?

I wish!! It was my first novel attempt (obviously nothing good).

That's cool, I should try something like that. It would be even better to talk to such people in person.

I don't think I'd like to talk to obsessed people in person. Yes, I'd like to know how they move, react and such, but I wouldn't expose myself.

Is this how you stumbled onto mbti?

No, not at all. A friend of mine told me to take a test and sentme a link, that was it. I meant studying archetypes of people with different traits, such as obsession, apathy, Peter Pan Syndrome, etc, and then I regulate how much of that I want to put in the character (a lot if I need an unhealthy character, some "sparkles" if I need a healthy character with some X tendencies).

Doesn't sound crazy at all. I've wondered at times if you have to be a decent actor to be a good writer. You should read The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It's the darkest of them all. The man who laughs? It sounds sepulchral. There's another one for my reading list. One has to wonder how Hugo wrote these without killing himself, and then somehow wrote something so redeeming as to make the bitterest of cynics weep (Les Miserables). Notes from Underground? You don't say? How was it? That's one of the five or so books I'm reading right now. So far, I find it insufferable, but I'll finish it eventually.
In 5 years time? We'll see about that. Same goes for you if you get around to finishing your books.

I don't know if you have to be a good actor to write well, but it's worth pondering (I know that you don't have to be a good writer to be a good actor).

Good, I'll add it to my list (it grows bigger and bigger everyday). The Man Who Laughs is set in England in the 17/18th century and it talks about a group of people that would distort kids' bodies to make them look funny and then sell them to the courts. The story focuses on the life of one of these kids (there, no spoilers). I read it during my subway travels and I was buried in the seat, almost sobbing. A guy asked me why I read it if it made me sad, so I told him because it was beautiful. he said "but it's sad!" and I replied "it's beautiful because it's sad". And he stopped talking to me, haha Honestly, that book focuses on beauty/lack of it and how both sides can be a blessing or a nightmare. His descriptions in that book are awfully realistic.

Considering Hugo is a Romantic, I dare say the dark relationship between the human and its environment was like fuel for him (though his case is a bit different from his contemporaries, because of his social/political critics... which are worth a bullet between the eyes, really).

Notes from the Underground is insufferable. That's why I'm reading it, haha (warning) it only gets worse.

As soon as I finish one and I find someone to translate it into English, you'll be the first to know!

 

[CitizenErased]

Been wanting to reply on this thread for a while, so here goes. I am a visual artist who has worked on various different mediums in the past, but only work with oil paints now. My work incorporates realism with fantasy and surrealism. A lot of it is based on an idea or image in my head and I keep adding things based on the theme I have in mind as I go. I'm very spontaneous and hate planning things thoroughly, but sometimes I have to compensate for that when I'm doing paintings for others or of real life people. I try to capture a certain emotion and meaning behind each piece, but I never explain anything to anybody because I hate having to do that, haha.

Interesting! I'm in love with surrealism (that helps not having to explain anything: it is there because it is there --what your subconscious meant while dreaming, that's another story and it's up for debate). I always like adding new things or distort them while I'm working. To be honest, I never know how the finished drawing is going to be, not even when I work with geometric/parametric designs.

When I'm painting, I feel like I'm in my own little world and love listening to all kinds of music that can take me away into it. Most of the time I listen to music and the rest I’m either watching videos or podcasts or just working in silence. I love music mainly from the 1960s to early 2000s. I have a major distaste for current mainstream music and feel like I live under a rock because I am totally unfamiliar with a lot of the musicians of today despite the fact that I’m in my twenties, haha. I listen to mostly subgenres of various forms of rock music, like shoegaze, neopsychedelia, 70s progressive rock, 70s glam rock, avant garde/art rock, classic rock, 70s/80s punk, and other alternative/indie genres. I usually listen to my favorite songs on shuffle, whole albums, or playlists that accommodate my imagination.

Totally. I don't think I like many new bands, and the ones I "use" while creating are mostly because they have a very distinct sound, so when I listen to all the songs in a row, my brain interprets it as one veeeery long song. I'm mad with the current music because it seems like they work on templates (not to make anyone angry, but you can overlap most Imagine Dragons songs and they sound the same), it's like they're not making an effort anymore. I'm also unfamiliar with most current music. Sometimes people send me a video to "get acquainted" with the music they like and my face of disgust is thinking "why does this have 300 million views and Bohemian Rhapsody only 70?" Not speaking about the music I use while creating (because I choose different things depending on what I'm seeking), I think my favourite forms of rock music (even if I like them all) are space rock, stoner rock, progressive, industrial and psychedelic... and some experimental bands. Then yes, I like punk, metal, ska, blues and jazz (and some interesting examples of 8-bit music, electrotango and electroswing). I'm not into most pop, latin music and techno, repetitive stuff.

The total list of artists I love is endless, so I’ll just post whatever comes to my mind at the moment: David Bowie, Syd Barrett, The Velvet Underground, The Kinks, The Beatles, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Spacemen 3, The Stone Roses, Suede, The Verve, Oasis, Blur, Manic Street Preachers, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Lush, Galaxie 500, the Cocteau Twins, Bjork, Sinead O'Connor, Depeche Mode, Black Flag, GG Allin, Bad Religion, Fugazi, Dinosaur Jr., Nirvana, Elliott Smith, Neutral Milk Hotel, Queen, Roxy Music, T. Rex (I adore this man), Mott the Hoople, Brian Eno, Sparks, Sweet, The New York Dolls, Black Sabbath, The Stooges, Dead Boys, The Ramones, Patti Smith, X-Ray Spex, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nina Hagen, Klaus Nomi, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Ween, Frank Zappa and the Mothers, Muddy Waters, Rory Gallagher, The Zombies, Emmylou Harris, Terry Reid, The Alan Parsons Project, Hawkwind, Genesis, King Crimson (mind blowing), Jethro Tull, Can, Van der Graaf Generator, Gentle Giant, Edith Piaf, old delta blues like Robert Johnson and Leadbelly, and much more that I can't think of right now.

I bolded the ones I like the most (the others I either don't know them (and I'll check them out) or aren't among my favourites). My favourite Beatle is George. I'd add to the list RATM, SOAD, Alice in Chains, Jane's Addiction, Metallica, Rush, The Offspring and Muse (my favourite band). And the ones of the videos I shared plus some other Spanish/Uruguayan/Argentinian bands that nobody knows, haha

The mood of my paintings can reflect what I listen to while working on them. But I usually find myself listening to songs that reflect my own mood during the day, regardless of the feeling I'm trying to portray on canvas. Like if I'm painting one of the most depressing looking paintings I've ever done, if I'm feeling good that day, I can listen to some upbeat, overly perky music if I'm in the mood, even if it's an extremely melodramatic painting I'm working on.

That's interesting! I don't think I can compartmentalize (what a dreadful word) my brain like that. If I'm in a sad mood, I can't create upbeat things. When I draw I mostly follow the mood I'm in, and find the right playlist. When I write I have to "behave" according to the character, and that's what music is for

I am very self-critical of my work and an extreme perfectionist to the point where sometimes I feel like I am a mad scientist pacing back and forth running mad. I have horrible OCD and feel like nothing is ever good enough. Time is my worst enemy, so I have to eventually end what I'm doing and move on.

I don't have OCD, but I'm extremely perfectionist when it comes to my work. I rememer when I started drawing, I would finish and feel it had been a worthless waste of time, so I'd rip the papaer into a million pieces (then I'd regret it but it was too late, haha). I wish I could put an end to my creations; I'm always revising them and changing them. That's why I like drawing on my computer: mistakes can be erased without consequences, haha

I guess I'll post a few that I've done recently. I'm too shy to post full images of my paintings, so I'll just show small sections. I'll probably delete these later sometime.

Here's a section of an unusually colorful painting I did. I usually don't use this many neons, but somehow I just kept wanting to add more color.

View attachment 17044


Here's a few shots of a David Bowie piece I finished back sometime. I did listen to a lot of his music while working on it in order to get me in the mood to paint it and at the same time as a form of mourning. I know, I'm overly dramatic.
Here's a few sections of pretty good quality that I've found (I haven't taken a really good photo of the whole thing yet). Here's one when I was still working on it, and one with a warped view while I was adding glitter to the edges after I finished.

View attachment 17039

View attachment 17038


Here's a section I did recently of my friend and her son as a birthday gift for his first birthday.

View attachment 17034


And here's one I'm working on right now. The proportions are off, so I still have a lot of stuff to change around and render better.

View attachment 17036

View attachment 17042


And yeah, that's about all. I'm enjoying reading about everyone's artistic interests and music tastes. I love finding new music too, so this thread is awesome.

No problem, I always end up deleting my photos after a while. I think it's amazing!! I could never paint. I like (in general, from all your paintings) how you work hands. To me, eyes and hands are the most important/expressive parts of the body. You made your friend and son pose for you? I don't think I'm good at that either, that's why my "specialty" is distorting/stylizing shapes. My favourite of all is the last one

Yes, I think this thread ended up being really "fruitful" (does that word exist?) for my mind, and I'm glad you enjoy it

 

[Abendrot]

I have a major distaste for current mainstream music and feel like I live under a rock because I am totally unfamiliar with a lot of the musicians of today despite the fact that I’m in my twenties, haha

Yeah, tell me about it.

I am very self-critical of my work and an extreme perfectionist to the point where sometimes I feel like I am a mad scientist pacing back and forth running mad. I have horrible OCD and feel like nothing is ever good enough. Time is my worst enemy, so I have to eventually end what I'm doing and move on.

What is perfectionism but an artist's best friend and worst enemy?

Interesting paintings. I like the middle one the most. It feels very cozy. I can just hear the fireplace crackling in the background. Let me take some wild guesses about what the last two paintings are about. Could the second last painting have anything to do with this quote? "From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is eternity" by Edvard Munch? The scorpion could symbolize death, and we see that death begets life, and the world is a garden. And the last one, it seems to have something to do with fate? A comparison of fate to the terrifying gorgon? In the snakes I see the living chains of fate.

 

[Hiraeth]

Interesting! I'm in love with surrealism (that helps not having to explain anything: it is there because it is there --what your subconscious meant while dreaming, that's another story and it's up for debate). I always like adding new things or distort them while I'm working. To be honest, I never know how the finished drawing is going to be, not even when I work with geometric/parametric designs.

Yes, surrealism blows my mind, especially when you see a surrealist painting like Salvador Dali's in person. I just love how it shows the unimaginable absurdities of life all through symbolism. It's like seeing life through a twisted, warped lens. I also don't know how my paintings will end up looking either. I have the image of what I'd want it to look like in my mind, but it always comes out differently, but I think that's what makes the art process interesting.

Totally. I don't think I like many new bands, and the ones I "use" while creating are mostly because they have a very distinct sound, so when I listen to all the songs in a row, my brain interprets it as one veeeery long song. I'm mad with the current music because it seems like they work on templates (not to make anyone angry, but you can overlap most Imagine Dragons songs and they sound the same), it's like they're not making an effort anymore. I'm also unfamiliar with most current music. Sometimes people send me a video to "get acquainted" with the music they like and my face of disgust is thinking "why does this have 300 million views and Bohemian Rhapsody only 70?" Not speaking about the music I use while creating (because I choose different things depending on what I'm seeking), I think my favourite forms of rock music (even if I like them all) are space rock, stoner rock, progressive, industrial and psychedelic... and some experimental bands. Then yes, I like punk, metal, ska, blues and jazz (and some interesting examples of 8-bit music, electrotango and electroswing). I'm not into most pop, latin music and techno, repetitive stuff.

Wow, I relate to this too. I have playlists dedicated to a story I have in my head and love envisioning the scenes while each song plays. It does seem like one long musical playing in my mind. I can also listen to the same song over and over again and not get tired of it. For me, it's like an endless continuation of a euphoric feeling that I just want to keep going on and on. And I definitely understand what you mean on modern music sounding like templates! I hate to say this, but I think that even some modern indie music kind of all sound alike too. I think a lot of modern music sounds over processed as well, like the musicians depend more on electronics to compensate for the lack of depth in their songs. I also feel that there is a lack of soul and heart that many older songs seem to have. But you know, that's just like my opinion, haha. And yeah, it is a sad time in reality when Justin Bieber has like a billion views on his videos when works of art by other musicians are unknown. But I guess that's what can make an artist a little more special, because then they would have a more real audience that appreciates their music for what it is and not just because they are the latest craze. I like nearly all the genres you've stated above, but I've never heard of electrotango and electroswing. Sounds interesting. I also don't really listen to a lot of pop, latin music, and techno, except for a few guilty pleasures I had while growing up as a child.

I bolded the ones I like the most (the others I either don't know them (and I'll check them out) or aren't among my favourites). My favourite Beatle is George. I'd add to the list RATM, SOAD, Alice in Chains, Jane's Addiction, Metallica, Rush, The Offspring and Muse (my favourite band). And the ones of the videos I shared plus some other Spanish/Uruguayan/Argentinian bands that nobody knows, haha

I also really liked George the best when he was in the Beatles. I think it partially is how I can relate to him as an underdog and also with him being the quiet one of the group. He was also a great songwriter and sang on some of their best songs. Although, I'm not too acquainted with his solo stuff, but I do like a few of his songs from what I've heard. I am much more into John Lennon's solo work, but I didn't really like him as much as a person. I also have a few Rage Against the Machine songs, but haven't listened to too many of their stuff (I'm not a fan of rap music in general, but I really like the songs I do have of them and how they have a message in their lyrics as well as how they infuse rock into it too). Actually, I have a few songs from each of the bands you listed here, so I do know who they are and what their style is like. I'll look more into them too. I forgot to mention Alice in Chains, I just haven't listened to them in a long time though. I love Layne Staley's voice. <3 I'm curious, what Spanish bands do you listen to? Have you heard of the band Heroes del Silencio? You probably have, they're very famous in the Spanish rock world.

That's interesting! I don't think I can compartmentalize (what a dreadful word) my brain like that. If I'm in a sad mood, I can't create upbeat things. When I draw I mostly follow the mood I'm in, and find the right playlist. When I write I have to "behave" according to the character, and that's what music is for

Yeah, I can see why it would be difficult to draw something that is completely not in line with your mood in the moment. Sometimes I find myself adding things into a painting that does reflect my mood at the moment, sort of changing the theme around a bit. Like for instance, if I am in a sad state of mind and I was painting something that Lisa Frank would be envious of, I would still try putting something within the painting to represent some sort of melancholic symbol so that I don't go totally mad looking at it, haha. I do relate to the power of the yin and yang, and try to incorporate elements of that into each of my paintings so that there is some balance, because I do think life is a tidal wave of both positive and negative energies. Sorry, that was a bit woo woo, haha. However, I do find myself much more fascinated towards more melancholic themes, whether it's in visual art, music, literature, films, and other art forms. I do think there is beauty and real human emotion involved that may not be as apparent in something seen as conventionally pleasant in real life. Sorrowful art feels much more raw and real, at least to me.

I don't have OCD, but I'm extremely perfectionist when it comes to my work. I rememer when I started drawing, I would finish and feel it had been a worthless waste of time, so I'd rip the papaer into a million pieces (then I'd regret it but it was too late, haha). I wish I could put an end to my creations; I'm always revising them and changing them. That's why I like drawing on my computer: mistakes can be erased without consequences, haha

Oh man, I had times when I wanted to tear apart my artwork too! I usually would try to calm myself down and think about the consequence after though, because I know I would go into a deep depression if not. I can't imagine how you must have coped with it! I have tried drawing on the computer and it always annoyed me because I had ideas I wanted to put forth, but always ended up frustrated because I could never get it to how I wanted it to be and it would always end up crashing so I'd have to keep backing my files up every minute, but that may be from my lack of knowledge on the particular program I used and from a crappy laptop. I think striving to do the best work is the artist's way. We all want to feel like we have something brilliant to show the world, and when it's not up to our idealized standards, even when others compliment us, if we don't feel satisfied, than we feel it's worthless.

No problem, I always end up deleting my photos after a while. I think it's amazing!! I could never paint. I like (in general, from all your paintings) how you work hands. To me, eyes and hands are the most important/expressive parts of the body. You made your friend and son pose for you? I don't think I'm good at that either, that's why my "specialty" is distorting/stylizing shapes. My favourite of all is the last one

Aww thanks! I try to show some kind of expression with each person. Hands can be very frustrating to paint at times because of the technicalities that are involved in making them look real. Haha, I didn't make them pose for me; it was from a photograph that they wanted captured on canvas. I've only done real life figure drawings of people in art classes, but it always drove me crazy because I like getting it exact as possible, and they'd always be moving. The last one I'm working on is more of what I'm trying to get into, and it's nice because it's a larger canvas. It's taking sooooooo long though.

Yes, I think this thread ended up being really "fruitful" (does that word exist?) for my mind, and I'm glad you enjoy it

Yup, I love anything that involves art. I did find this thread not only fruitful, but very interesting to see other thought processes involved in all kinds of artistic forms. I enjoyed reading how you came up with your own characters for writing. I'm not a writer, so I do find it fascinating how one's mind conjures up an entire plot and goes through with writing an entire story based on it. I like how you said you like to start backwards, first coming up with the main idea to the plot and then coming up with a series of questions to find that one interesting question to address in a particular scene. And how you like drawing the characters out, envisioning them like paper dolls with their own set of individual traits and seeing how you can tie them into the story. That definitely sounds like Ne at work. It's funny how you say you could never paint, but from reading other writers' ideas on here and how they formulate them into novels makes me realize I wouldn't be able to write a story, at least a good one, haha. I do have ideas of a certain story in my mind, but I would never be successful at putting it all down on paper with such eloquent writing. Anyways, thanks for spending the time to reply back!

 

[Hiraeth]

Interesting paintings. I like the middle one the most. It feels very cozy. I can just hear the fireplace crackling in the background. Let me take some wild guesses about what the last two paintings are about. Could the second last painting have anything to do with this quote? "From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is eternity" by Edvard Munch? The scorpion could symbolize death, and we see that death begets life, and the world is a garden. And the last one, it seems to have something to do with fate? A comparison of fate to the terrifying gorgon? In the snakes I see the living chains of fate.

Thank you! The last two images are connected together. That is a great observation. I actually didn't have that quote by Edvard Munch in mind, but I like how it actually ties well to what I have in mind. Well, at least had, as I've just gotten rid of the hand clasping onto the growing rose plant and have replaced it with a broken hourglass. It now shows the roots of the roses disintegrating into smoke and coming out from the broken hourglass. Now I really want to add the hand back because I love that quote, haha. It just didn't fit the rest of how his body was laying down and I kept trying to make his hand and arm as proportionate as possible, but I couldn't find references to make it appear that way, so I ended up giving up and putting an hourglass instead because it goes with the whole Saturn thing I have in mind. I was going to add an hourglass anyway, but I figured I'll just tie it into the plant instead.

I love playing around with symbolism, and I wanted to do something that showcases the importance of time and patience, but suffering through it all in order to achieve success, which kind of goes along with what Saturn represents astrologically. I also incorporated a few Plutonian aspects, such as the scorpion you've correctly identified that symbolizes death. I admit, I have an interest in astrology, but I find the idea how it's all like a puzzle, full of symbolism and how it incorporates Greek mythology into it quite fascinating. I like how Saturn and Pluto both represent the darker themes of life. I also have a Mardi Gras theme intertwined as well. Not sure why, just thought it would be interesting, haha. The thing with the Mardi Gras mask and snakes coming out of it's feathered hair is supposed to represent the God Saturn, but I still need to add more symbols to show that it's Saturn. Yeah, I guess it does look like a Medusa-like creature, but I wanted to put something creepy growing out of it's feathers, and thought of snakes probably subconsiously because of Medusa, but also because in animal symbolism, snakes are governed by Saturn, so I thought it would be cool to add a bunch of snakes in. I also have added goat horns, since Saturn rules the sign Capricorn the goat, and Capricorn is an Earth sign so that can represent the roses in bloom and how the one rose in Saturn's hand is glowing to show how it represents power and authority. It probably doesn't make much sense and probably doesn't seem to appear the way it does, but I just kept having these ideas flourishing in my mind and wanted to add them in hopes that they can somehow tie into the theme.

I did also get rid of the scorpion because of the hourglass taking up front and center, and am now planning on moving it a little forward so it's not blocking the hourglass. I'm trying to show that the bottom part is the underworld, and that the top is where good things come to those who wait, and that is where Saturn is ruling over, watching over the lifeless in hopes of making something of themselves one day. The death aspect I had in mind is supposed to either represent the intense feeling of never succeeding and what can happen if time is not used wisely, the dead feeling inside. Or, it can represent the feeling of overworking and still not getting to where you want, feeling like you have a weight on your shoulders. I like how you mentioned the living chains of fate. I guess you can conclude that from the snakes. The funny thing is, I didn't show it in photo, but the man's body at the bottom has an anchor chain partially tattooed on the side of his torso and then leading out onto a waterfall while rising up, showing an anchor sinking down and then connecting to the body. Maybe that can somehow relate to it too, idk. I'm not sure if this all makes much sense (it probably doesn't, haha), but I tried to explain it as best as I could. I like leaving things open for interpretation though, and I'm now seeing things I didn't see before in possible meanings, so thanks for giving your perspective.

Wow, that was a lot to write. My mind's a bit warped. At least I have something to fall back on when I have to explain stuff to people. Much easier to write it out than processing it all out in conversation.

 

[Abendrot]

Thank you! The last two images are connected together. That is a great observation. I actually didn't have that quote by Edvard Munch in mind, but I like how it actually ties well to what I have in mind. Well, at least had, as I've just gotten rid of the hand clasping onto the growing rose plant and have replaced it with a broken hourglass. It now shows the roots of the roses disintegrating into smoke and coming out from the broken hourglass. Now I really want to add the hand back because I love that quote, haha. It just didn't fit the rest of how his body was laying down and I kept trying to make his hand and arm as proportionate as possible, but I couldn't find references to make it appear that way, so I ended up giving up and putting an hourglass instead because it goes with the whole Saturn thing I have in mind. I was going to add an hourglass anyway, but I figured I'll just tie it into the plant instead.

I love playing around with symbolism, and I wanted to do something that showcases the importance of time and patience, but suffering through it all in order to achieve success, which kind of goes along with what Saturn represents astrologically. I also incorporated a few Plutonian aspects, such as the scorpion you've correctly identified that symbolizes death. I admit, I have an interest in astrology, but I find the idea how it's all like a puzzle, full of symbolism and how it incorporates Greek mythology into it quite fascinating. I like how Saturn and Pluto both represent the darker themes of life. I also have a Mardi Gras theme intertwined as well. Not sure why, just thought it would be interesting, haha. The thing with the Mardi Gras mask and snakes coming out of it's feathered hair is

Glad I could help . Symbols are very fun indeed. So it's a Mardi Gras mask huh? I would have guessed that it was a mask from the Carnival of Venice. Well, that's a lot of astrology. Incidentally, there is a musical piece called Saturn by Gustav Holst: Gustav Holst - Saturn - YouTube
He wrote the piece in an effort to convey the unconscious meaning that Saturn holds in the human mind. I don't know if you like classical music, but it might help.

 

[Hiraeth]

Glad I could help . Symbols are very fun indeed. So it's a Mardi Gras mask huh? I would have guessed that it was a mask from the Carnival of Venice. Well, that's a lot of astrology. Incidentally, there is a musical piece called Saturn by Gustav Holst: Gustav Holst - Saturn - YouTube
He wrote the piece in an effort to convey the unconscious meaning that Saturn holds in the human mind. I don't know if you like classical music, but it might help.

Thanks, I really did enjoy the song. I can definitely hear how it is a representation of Saturn. I like how it starts out with an uneasiness to it, with a moment of crescendo that teases us at first only to die down and eventually lead us to the middle sequence with the terrifying climax, surrendering into the final death. That is where a new beginning arises, a much more serene sound with some peacful harmonies from the flutes, a representation of out with the old regime of Capricorn and into the New Age of Aquarius. I actually played the Jupiter version of Gustav Holst's planet series on violin when I was in grade school, and I used to have an album with all the planet pieces too, so it did bring back a lot of memories.

 

[geedoenfj]

Guys, I would appreciate if you suggest songs in Spanish for me, any other language like French, Italian, Portugese, Greek etc. basically ANYTHING is most welcome as well..

Blow my mind

Thank you ^_^

 

[CitizenErased]

Yes, surrealism blows my mind, especially when you see a surrealist painting like Salvador Dali's in person. I just love how it shows the unimaginable absurdities of life all through symbolism. It's like seeing life through a twisted, warped lens. I also don't know how my paintings will end up looking either. I have the image of what I'd want it to look like in my mind, but it always comes out differently, but I think that's what makes the art process interesting.

Dalí is one of my favourite artists. Have you seen the Anthropomorfic Cabinet? That always gets me. I remember there was a café in my hometown which had a replica of geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man, and I was terrified. Then I grew up and I loved it. Funny how things turn out.

I'm definitely more interested in the process of things than the goals. I think it's really different to see/read something you created and something you didn't because when you look at your own creation you see all the process, the emotions, the effort you put. I think the pleasure is in the process and not so much in "Ah, I finished this *relief*"

Wow, I relate to this too. I have playlists dedicated to a story I have in my head and love envisioning the scenes while each song plays. It does seem like one long musical playing in my mind. I can also listen to the same song over and over again and not get tired of it. For me, it's like an endless continuation of a euphoric feeling that I just want to keep going on and on. And I definitely understand what you mean on modern music sounding like templates! I hate to say this, but I think that even some modern indie music kind of all sound alike too. I think a lot of modern music sounds over processed as well, like the musicians depend more on electronics to compensate for the lack of depth in their songs. I also feel that there is a lack of soul and heart that many older songs seem to have. But you know, that's just like my opinion, haha. And yeah, it is a sad time in reality when Justin Bieber has like a billion views on his videos when works of art by other musicians are unknown. But I guess that's what can make an artist a little more special, because then they would have a more real audience that appreciates their music for what it is and not just because they are the latest craze. I like nearly all the genres you've stated above, but I've never heard of electrotango and electroswing. Sounds interesting. I also don't really listen to a lot of pop, latin music, and techno, except for a few guilty pleasures I had while growing up as a child.

I listen to songs on repeat too. At some point it's like my brain stops hearing the music but keeps the beat and feeling, so I focus more on what my hands are doing than the song itself.

I agree with your opinion on music 100%. Here are some examples for electrotango and electroswing (I chose the best songs with the best videos, as we're speaking of being creative). I use them when I don't know what to draw so I start sort of "dancing" while sitting on the chair until my arm makes a gesture in the air and I start doodling until I find a shape I like. (Warning: if you go to "clubs" to dance tango, this is not the girls you're going to find there. I think the genre was mostly created to attract younger people into tango music).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riuF_Ur3unc

Gotan Project - La Gloria (official music video) - YouTube

Gotan Project - Diferente (Official music video) - YouTube (i like this video, not so much the song.. this band has nice videos -- the other one has better songs but not so interesting videos)

Parov Stelar - Jimmy s Gang (Official Video) - YouTube

Caravan Palace - Lone Digger - YouTube

(These two last bands have awesome songs and awesome videos)

I'm curious, what Spanish bands do you listen to? Have you heard of the band Heroes del Silencio? You probably have, they're very famous in the Spanish rock world.

No, I don't know Héroes del Silencio, but I'll check them out! I listen to Ska-P (ska-punk band that focuses on political songs but the music in general puts me in a good mood --you know, jumping and singing with the broomstick as microphone, that kind of silly stuff), then from Uruguay, Cuarteto de Nos (has crazy songs with lots of rhymes), then from Argentina, I think I listen to old bands: Soda Stereo, Divididos (this man is HUGE <3), La Renga (and here's another song), Bersuit Vergarabat (then they changed the singer, which writes awesome songs, but the videos are awful), Callejeros, Attaque 77 (and here is another song, sadly no video), Los Caballeros de la Quema, Almafuerte, Eruca Sativa, Sui Generis, Andrés Calamaro (this guy is awesome, though he's always high so he does a lot of stupid stuff) and tango in general.

Uff, I got tired! I'll shorten my answer.

However, I do find myself much more fascinated towards more melancholic themes, whether it's in visual art, music, literature, films, and other art forms. I do think there is beauty and real human emotion involved that may not be as apparent in something seen as conventionally pleasant in real life. Sorrowful art feels much more raw and real, at least to me.

Oh man, I had times when I wanted to tear apart my artwork too! I usually would try to calm myself down and think about the consequence after though, because I know I would go into a deep depression if not. I can't imagine how you must have coped with it! I have tried drawing on the computer and it always annoyed me because I had ideas I wanted to put forth, but always ended up frustrated because I could never get it to how I wanted it to be and it would always end up crashing so I'd have to keep backing my files up every minute, but that may be from my lack of knowledge on the particular program I used and from a crappy laptop. I think striving to do the best work is the artist's way. We all want to feel like we have something brilliant to show the world, and when it's not up to our idealized standards, even when others compliment us, if we don't feel satisfied, than we feel it's worthless.

Agree 100% on both topics.

Aww thanks! I try to show some kind of expression with each person. Hands can be very frustrating to paint at times because of the technicalities that are involved in making them look real. Haha, I didn't make them pose for me; it was from a photograph that they wanted captured on canvas. I've only done real life figure drawings of people in art classes, but it always drove me crazy because I like getting it exact as possible, and they'd always be moving. The last one I'm working on is more of what I'm trying to get into, and it's nice because it's a larger canvas. It's taking sooooooo long though.

I love drawing hands! I think it's the only thing I draw more or less decently. I also can't work in large formats without the drawing getting distorted

Yup, I love anything that involves art. I did find this thread not only fruitful, but very interesting to see other thought processes involved in all kinds of artistic forms (1). I enjoyed reading how you came up with your own characters for writing. I'm not a writer, so I do find it fascinating how one's mind conjures up an entire plot and goes through with writing an entire story based on it. I like how you said you like to start backwards, first coming up with the main idea to the plot and then coming up with a series of questions to find that one interesting question to address in a particular scene. And how you like drawing the characters out, envisioning them like paper dolls with their own set of individual traits and seeing how you can tie them into the story. That definitely sounds like Ne at work (2). It's funny how you say you could never paint, but from reading other writers' ideas on here and how they formulate them into novels makes me realize I wouldn't be able to write a story, at least a good one, haha. I do have ideas of a certain story in my mind, but I would never be successful at putting it all down on paper with such eloquent writing. Anyways, thanks for spending the time to reply back!

(1) I find it really interesting too, and it gives me ideas to approach creative work with new techniques! (2) Definitely. I have a lot of Ne, only that I'm much much more introvert, haha.

Oh, and writing is about reading and practicing, the same way panting is practicing. With patience and hard work one can get better

 

[CitizenErased]

Guys, I would appreciate if you suggest songs in Spanish for me, any other language like French, Italian, Portugese, Greek etc. basically ANYTHING is most welcome as well..

Blow my mind

Thank you ^_^

Heeeey, in my last post I linked a trillion songs/bands, but here are some you may like because I don't know if you like the music style of the songs above:

(This man is a beautiful human being)

Joaquin Sabina - A la orilla de la chimenea - YouTube (this is from Spain)

Then... have you seen the movie Amélie? The composer of the soundtrack is Yann Tiersen (I know how to play some of his songs on the piano <3), you should check his music. here's a sung one (most of them aren't):

Yann Tiersen - La Terrasse - YouTube

Aaaaand I adore this video, and the song too, of course:

And then in Portuguese (I love the language so much), I haven't listened to many songs but here are the ones I like:

Cazuza - O Tempo Nao Para Legendado HD - YouTube

Raimundos - Mulher de fases (letra). - YouTube

Titas-Epitafio (LEGENDADO) - YouTube

Hope that's enough, my brain is dead, haha

 

[Hiraeth]

Dalí is one of my favourite artists. Have you seen the Anthropomorfic Cabinet? That always gets me. I remember there was a café in my hometown which had a replica of geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man, and I was terrified. Then I grew up and I loved it. Funny how things turn out.

I'm definitely more interested in the process of things than the goals. I think it's really different to see/read something you created and something you didn't because when you look at your own creation you see all the process, the emotions, the effort you put. I think the pleasure is in the process and not so much in "Ah, I finished this *relief*"

Yeah, I've seen that painting before, it's very interesting. The whole woman with drawers for a torso on the ground with her arm raised up looking like she's crying for help towards a shadow of another woman in the distance. Pretty traumatic. My personal favorite is The Hallucinogenic Toreador. It's a major head trip. The backstory is pretty funny too, because it's set in a bull ring and the painting is dedicated to his wife, who had a major hatred for bullfighting, so there's a small portrait of her head looking down in disapproval at a dead bull carcass. There's a lot of hidden stuff in there that's fun to find. I also really like Child Watching the Birth of a New Man. I can see how that can be creepy for a young child though. I used to have a major phobia of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody music video when I was really young and even couldn't listen to the song for years until I got older, so I can relate. And now it's one of my favorite songs by them.

I totally agree that the process into making art itself is important as everything we listen to and do in that moment impacts the end result.

I listen to songs on repeat too. At some point it's like my brain stops hearing the music but keeps the beat and feeling, so I focus more on what my hands are doing than the song itself.

I agree with your opinion on music 100%. Here are some examples for electrotango and electroswing (I chose the best songs with the best videos, as we're speaking of being creative). I use them when I don't know what to draw so I start sort of "dancing" while sitting on the chair until my arm makes a gesture in the air and I start doodling until I find a shape I like. (Warning: if you go to "clubs" to dance tango, this is not the girls you're going to find there. I think the genre was mostly created to attract younger people into tango music).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riuF_Ur3unc

Gotan Project - La Gloria (official music video) - YouTube

Gotan Project - Diferente (Official music video) - YouTube (i like this video, not so much the song.. this band has nice videos -- the other one has better songs but not so interesting videos)

Parov Stelar - Jimmy s Gang (Official Video) - YouTube

Caravan Palace - Lone Digger - YouTube

(These two last bands have awesome songs and awesome videos)

Nice. I really like Diferente by Gotan Project and Jimmy´s Gang by Parov Stelar the best out of the ones listed. I liked all the music videos too.

No, I don't know Héroes del Silencio, but I'll check them out! I listen to Ska-P (ska-punk band that focuses on political songs but the music in general puts me in a good mood --you know, jumping and singing with the broomstick as microphone, that kind of silly stuff), then from Uruguay, Cuarteto de Nos (has crazy songs with lots of rhymes), then from Argentina, I think I listen to old bands: Soda Stereo, Divididos (this man is HUGE <3), La Renga (and here's another song), Bersuit Vergarabat (then they changed the singer, which writes awesome songs, but the videos are awful), Callejeros, Attaque 77 (and here is another song, sadly no video), Los Caballeros de la Quema, Almafuerte, Eruca Sativa, Sui Generis, Andrés Calamaro (this guy is awesome, though he's always high so he does a lot of stupid stuff) and tango in general.

Uff, I got tired! I'll shorten my answer.

Heroes del Silencio are a rock band, but they have a metallish sound on some of their songs, so I thought maybe you may like them because it seemed like you are a metal fan from the bands you listed on your previous post. I really like this song, the lead singer sings with such passion and the lyrics are also very nice:

I really like the examples you've provided, especially the song Ya no sé qué hacer conmigo by El Cuarteto de Nos, Fuero o Mas Alla by Eruca Sativa, and Patria al Hombro by Almafuerte. Thanks for the song recommendations. I need to start listening to more Spanish music (and to listen to more improve my Spanish) because I mainly listen to the more famous Spanish singers, like Shakira (her old stuff mainly) and 90's Enrique Inglesias (it's a guilty pleasure, don't judge ) with a few random songs here and there. I'm not really in touch with my Latino side when it comes to knowing some really cool bands. Are you of Latin background by any chance?

Agree 100% on both topics.

Glad you agree.

I love drawing hands! I think it's the only thing I draw more or less decently. I also can't work in large formats without the drawing getting distorted

Yeah, it is kind of difficult at first because you have to draw at a much larger scale. But what I like about larger paintings is that it's easier for me to put in more intricate detail.

(1) I find it really interesting too, and it gives me ideas to approach creative work with new techniques! (2) Definitely. I have a lot of Ne, only that I'm much much more introvert, haha.

Oh, and writing is about reading and practicing, the same way panting is practicing. With patience and hard work one can get better

I'm very introverted as well. My favorite time is my alone time.
That is true about practice and hard work. I guess it all comes down to what interests you the most, and working at it to improve with time.

 

[Hiraeth]

Guys, I would appreciate if you suggest songs in Spanish for me, any other language like French, Italian, Portugese, Greek etc. basically ANYTHING is most welcome as well..

Blow my mind

Thank you ^_^

Here's a song by Shakira in Spanish and partially Arabic since you like Arabic music, but it's mainly a Spanish song. It is one of her most famous songs, so you may have heard it before if you like her music. She was trying to get in touch with her Arab roots in this song, as she's half Lebanese just like me.

Here's another Spanish song by an Italian singer named Gianluca Grignani. The original version is in Italian though, but I grew up with the Spanish version, so I've shown that one. It's one of my favorites of all time. It also helps that he's easy on the eyes, haha.

This one is a French song by a French singer named Damien Saez. I really wanted to show my personal favorite, Putain Vous M'aurez Plus, but it's blocked for copyright, so here's another great song by him instead.

And this is another French song from a French film called Le Chansons d'amour. I was just listening to it, so I decided to put it here because I think the song's cute and kind of funny.

Here's another Spanish song by another Italian singer named Laura Pausini. Also a favorite song of mine. Love her voice. <3

This is a Brazilian Portuguese version of David Bowie's Starman. I kind of like it.

And here's one of my favorite Andrea Bocelli songs in Italian. I freaking love this man. The end of this song always gives me goosebumps.

I guess I'll put one of my favorite Nina Hagen German songs just for a little more diversity. She's not everyone's cup of tea, so just a fair warning. She's definitely out there, but I find her very captivating for this reason. This is a live version of the song and it always makes me laugh. She's so freaking crazy. XD

And there's a lot more, but I'll just end it here.