10 Artists and the Music They Listen to While Painting

artists music Certain types of music may inspire some artists during their creation process.

I love to have music playing in the background while I paint. Fast, upbeat music sometimes inspires me to be very expressive with my brush. I typically listen to this type of music at the outset of a painting… since I like to fill the canvas as fast as I can. For the second half of the creation process I usually turn to slower, mellow music. This type of music helps me to be more precise and technical in my brush strokes.

For the artist spotlight, I have asked artists to answer the question “What music do you listen to while creating art?” Some of these 10 artists have answered this question, and their answers are below, along with an image of their art.

What type of music do you like to have playing in your studio while making art?

Camille Roman

USA

Mediums: acrylic, mixed media, frescoes

Style: contemporary art

“What kind of music do you listen to while creating?”

When I am doing one of my romantic paintings, I listen to love songs or mood maker songs by Enrique Iglesias, Michael Buble, Robin Thicke or even country songs by Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw or Trace Atkins. I mean c'mon....what woman wouldn't be romantically inspired by at least one of they guys?

Really, I have such a wide range of music, but classic rock like Journey, Aerosmith, Van Halen or new country is what gets me motivated.
Fiona de Lacy Art

Ireland

Mediums: mixed media, acrylics, texture gels

Style: abstract art

Where do you find ideas for your art?

I suppose I tend to get my ideas usually from everyday life, mostly from my own life but sometimes from other peoples lives. Many things inspire me to paint, my surroundings, family, and sometimes even worries that I may have often evolve into a painting. Most of my work began as a ‘feeling’, happiness, despair, gratitude or it was inspired after a significant life event which caused an impact to me or others. What is happening at a particular moment in my life can have a great influence on what I am creating.
Katie Wyatt

Australia

Mediums: acrylic and impasto

Style: abstract, expressionism

Do you listen to music while creating?

Music is such an important part of my painting process. I have an iPhone speaker dock which is always playing in the studio. I have a playlist of favourite tracks from Sarah Bareilles, Brooke Fraser, Ed Sheeran & Coldplay. Painting is a solitary pursuit so it’s nice to have the background music.
John Pilkington

Northampton UK

Mediums: colored pencil, technical pens

Style: digital manipulation

THEMES

This conscious reality is only part of existence and there are many other possibilities of awareness that have been educated out of our cultured Western perception. Because our brains only translate a fraction of what our eyes perceive into recognizable form there is a wealth of unseen and unrecognised life out there. We are definitely not alone. With this in mind I use folk-lore, fantasy and myth to provide a genre within which to promote these themes.
Bruce Black

Phoenix, AZ, USA

Mediums: watercolor

Style: American realism

When uninspired, how do you become inspired again?

There are a few things that I like to do when I am uninspired. One of them is to visit art museums. Just wondering through the halls and seeing the various masterpieces immediately gives me a charge and makes me want to get back into the studio. I also read a fair amount of art history. Reading about a particular artist or style of art reacquaints me with the heritage of art. It reminds me that I am not alone on this journey. There are so many others who have come before and paved this road for me. Finally, I enjoy just getting outside and exploring. Something or someone is bound to get me motivated to make a painting.
Warren Peterson

Ontario, Canada

Mediums: Acrylics, graphite, watercolour and charcoal.

Style: realism

Why do you make art?
I create art because of my love for the Earth and the joy that it brings to me and my collectors. It brings us back to nature and jogs our fond memories of the good times and places we have been and seen.
Eskort

New Jersey, USA

Mediums: aerosol paint, acrylic paint, and ink

Style: hybrid of graffiti and design

Music and Art

I listen to anything really from music with Jazz influences, to Rock and Underground Rap.

Chances are I'm listening to music such as the groups: Lack of Afro, Hird, Amy Whinehouse,Gnarles Barkley, Jill Scott, Deftones, or the Roots. Calming/Chill out music is the best.
Laura Tovar Dietrick

Virginia, USA

Mediums: oil painting

Style: realism

Do you listen to music while painting?

Funny you should ask... Painting without music is like trying to work in total darkness. Music is the light that switches me on in my work. I love Gotan Project, classical guitar and music that is invigorating and upbeat, which covers all kinds of stuff.
Tahirih Goffic

British Columbia, Canada

Mediums: oil painting

Style: realism

Do you have a certain type of music playing while painting?

I listen to all kinds of music while I'm creating. It depends on my mood. I really love Beethoven and Mozart... they're great for getting me in the groove, and I'll listen to them if I have a nice long slot of uninterrupted time to work with.

I also love acoustic guitar and vocals, indie folk singers. I love the simplicity of the guitar and a voice. It reminds me of many nights with my family around a campfire in our backyard, singing with my dad. I swear he knows every 60's song ever written!
Rothko Hauschildt

USA, Texas

Mediums: acrylic, encaustic

Style: abstract art

“What kind of music do you listen to while creating art?”

I listen to the very eclectic collection of songs on my iPod, always on “shuffle.” I listen to things like Guided By Voices, Bob Mould, R.E.M., and Muse.