Q&A Time

We did it! We got through 2020 and we’re all looking forward to 2021. As a side note, did anyone else love how Pantone gave up their usual rules and gave us 2 colors instead of 1 for the Color of the Year? I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that I’m not the only one with the mindset of: “forget it; I’m just going to…[insert usual discipline now thrown to the wind].” Anyway! With this new year and new followers, I thought I’d take a moment to do a little Q&A time. Below are 5 common questions I get when people find out I have Synesthesia and paint what I hear.

1. When did you discover you had synesthesia?

I discovered I had Synesthesia when I was in college. I was in an Art History class and the professor was discussing a rare psychological phenomena that affects how a person perceives different senses. She said that people with this “synesthesia” can see music because the visual and auditory senses cross over. I had no idea that this was uncommon because it was just a normal thing for me. Obviously, I’ve since fully embraced this unique disorder/gift and enjoy sharing it with you all!

2. Do you listen to a lot of music?

I’m not sure if this is common with most people or if this is another quirk of mine but when I listen to music, songs get stuck in my head for a long time. Simple things like commercial jingles, TV show theme songs, or songs on the radio will last in my head for days and sometimes weeks. I’ll wake up in the morning with them stuck in my head. This can get exhausting, so I like to break it up and go through phases of listening to podcasts, recordings of the ocean, or simply having nothing playing and relaxing/painting in silence.

3. Is there any music you don’t like?

My go-to answer for this question is “country music.” I know there are a lot of different kinds of country music out there so let me clarify. I don’t like those really twangy songs where it sounds like the artist’s voice is screeching across the road like the blown tire they’re singing about. I can’t listen to them long enough to fully analyze why they bother me so much, but I’m guessing it’s because the shapes of the sounds coming from the vocalist are often unpleasant. That all being said, I have done some synesthesia pieces of country songs where the vocals are smooth and the music flows nicely. I’m ok with that kind of country music.

4. Is having Synesthesia distracting?

Yes and no. Synesthesia can be distracting in my day-to-day life if I let it. When listening to music in the car or sitting in a restaurant that’s playing music, I will see the song unfolding, but that’s obviously not the time or place to pull out my drawing app and start sketching the music. I simply take note of the song and come back to it later when I have time to study it in more detail.

5. Why do you paint digitally and not traditionally?

I go into this topic in more detail in a previous blog, but essentially, I like the flexibility that digital painting gives me. My painting program allows me to easily play with colors, layers, and textures without having to redo a painting each time I want to change something. As a song plays out, the images I see change with it. In order to create a cohesive painting that’s aesthetically pleasing, I need to pick and choose what part(s) of the song I should display on canvas. Digitally painting gives me the opportunity to see how the various elements of the song work together visually.

I hope that answered some of your burning questions and gave you a little insight into my experiences with Synesthesia. I’d love to hear from you, answer any other questions you may have, and know how long songs get stuck in your head. Please reach out to me!