Happy Birthday Lee DeWyze!!

Today’s sketch is a Birthday gift to Lee. Happy Birthday!!!!!!

 

Lee, I saw this picture of your grandfather posted by Mike and wanted to sketch it so that you and your family had something amazing to remember him by. When you have something that kickass in your family tree… you’re gonna want to cherish it. Happy Birthday, I hope you love it!

 

Did you guys know that Lee’s grandfather was a relief pitcher for the Phillies in the 1940’s?

Mike DeWyze, Lee’s brother posted a picture back in the beginning of March and I was absolutely fascinated by it. I LOVE old vintage pictures and baseball… so I asked if he’d mind if I sketched it. I have to tell you, this turned out to be by far, my favorite out of anything I’ve ever done… so Lee, I hope you like it and I hope you have an amazing day! Happy Birthday!

 

** Isn’t it insane how much Lee looked like him???

 

I am so honored to have been able to do this sketch for so many reasons. Obviously first and foremost, I’m honored that I was able to capture something so special for the DeWyze family. I mean, it’s an amazing picture and how awesome is it to say that your grandfather played in the MLB… for the Phillies even? (if you haven’t noticed by now, I am a huge baseball fan and have always been a devoted, loyal Phillies fan…even on bad days!)

 

This is also special to me though for a few reasons… I love to be able to do something that makes others happy, especially for Lee,who’s music & inspiration helped me find "me" again. I finally have an outlet & purpose for my talent and that is pretty awesome. I can honestly say that, having the ability to create art pretty much meant nothing to me until now, and people "get it"... It's an amazing feeling. 

For those of you that know me…you know that themost important things I hold dearest to my heart are my family,my art/inspiration, Lee’s music, horror movies and the Phillies…. So far… because of Lee, I have been able to incorporate all of these things at one point into my art. As you have seen in past posts about my relationship with my grandmother, she was my best friend, mother and roommate…however, my grandfather passed away when I was in 7th grade, and let me just tell you… there are no words to describe the relationship I had with him. Think about how much you love the most special and important person in your life and multiplythat by a million… that is how much I loved my pop-pop.

I was a tomboy, we bonded over Phillies baseball…. That was our thing. At one point, I was able to tell you every stat of every player… I was known to all his friends as “Charlie’s girl”, he practically took me home from the hospital when I was born and just never gave me back. Lol. I love him with all my heart….. So doing this portrait of Lee’s grandfather just brought back so many memories and feelings. If he were alive today for me to show him this and then to hear how it ties in with something that has been such a huge inspiration to me…he would be beyond excited and proud. He was extremely proud of my artistic ability back then and my baseball knowledge lol. …It’s kind of fascinating to think that being the fan he was… my grandfather probably knew who Deacon Donahue was. Smallworld, huh? Again… the circle of inspiration emerges and it ALWAYS starts with Lee… just say’in…ALWAYS.

 

So enough about my reasons for wanting to draw this…. This is for Lee, Mike and the rest of their family to have as a keepsake. Thank you for inspiring me, Thank you for being an amazing person and by being so supportive & appreciative of what I do…seeing your excitementwhen you look at the art is probably the best feedback I could ever ask for.

        Again, Happy Birthday Lee!!!!

 

-Jenn

 

3 of 3: MY final thoughts on the visual review of Lee DeWyze's new album "Frames"

Hello! There is no better time than this exact moment to do this “Frames” review because today, I just felt extra connected to the music. 

Taking my art out of the equation for a second: One of my favorite writers out there, Sarah May Bates once wrote “There is nothing more attractive and enchanting than Authenticity” and you know what, she is right. There is nothing more beautiful and enchanting than authenticity and that is exactly what Lee DeWyze and his music is. You can sit there and compare him to bands like Mumford and sons but why, because they both have banjos? There is nothing out there exactly like Lee DeWyze and with “Frames” he proves that. Every single song is majestic, heart-stirring and awe-inspiring.

 You know you are amazing at what you do when your abilities shed light on the abilities inside of others... that other being me in this case, obviously.  Thank you Lee, from the bottom of my heart for this breathtaking album. As a fan, I am so proud of you. I am proud of you for sticking to what you believe in and not conforming to anyone else’s vision of what kind of artist you should be. I have never had so much respect for a person in my life. You inspire me, not only as an artist...but as a person. For the first time in a REALLY long time, I feel like me... I feel like people “get it” and that is an amazing feeling, and it's all because of your words & talent. Thank YOU. You were born to do this, please don't ever stop & never let the fame change you. Your mind, lyrics, melodies and soul are sheer perfection... Yet you are the most humble and down to earth person I have ever met. Your voice is like my security blanket...thank you for always being there for me with your music. "Frames" is stunning...every single track.... I absolutely love it.  

I loved every second of creating this art and I can not wait to finish the remaining songs. As you all know, I live a very busy life. With all of our traveling, I might as well be a rockstar myself. I usually forget to take time for me...having this music awaken my need to create reminds me that I need that time for myself.... To do what makes MY soul happy. I do not create my art for attention. I do not create my art for money-they will never be for sale. I create SOLELY for having the outlet to get out all these overwhelming emotions and visuals I get when listening to this music, and I get that added pleasure of knowing that people get it. They enjoy it and hopefully Lee gets it. **Warning, this is about to get incredibly real, but cheesy**...

I truly believe that I was fated to find this music and to bring it to life. I don’t listen to a song and ask myself “what can I paint that goes with this song”... I just “Feel” it and there is really no way to explain it exactly. I know I keep saying that, but it's important to me to get that point across... That this is real and I'm not just playing a part. Each song hits me like a vision. You know really, a “heavy heart” is a feeling of unhappiness according to the dictionary... however the feeling I get when I listen to this man’s voice feels like my heart is actually filling up until it’s heavy... if that makes sense... which is the exact opposite of unhappiness. It’s a confounding flood of happiness like my heart is going to burst. That is really hard to explain without sounding crazy. I, myself think it sounds crazy... So there ya go. lol, I warned you.. It sounds cheesy and there are no words to exactly describe it, but I'm doing my best. 

I’d also like to thank Mare and my sister. 

Mare, 

I have had many great friends come into my life at different crossroads. I have met SO MANY amazing people through this journey with my art and Lee’s music, But you truly get me. My art is inspired by Lee’s music.... the best way to describe this is...picture a huge, beautiful perfect bonfire. This bonfire burns bright; creating beautiful & comforting warm flames- this represents my inspiration from Lee and his music. 

When you started telling me how YOU felt about my art and how connected you felt it was to the music.... picture throwing a little gasoline on that fire.. making it brighter and twice as powerful... that is how YOU have effected my inspiration. Thank you. I love your way with words... I love how you can take the words of my favorite songwriter, add your thoughts of my interpretation of those songs... and create an even bigger picture. You are turning this beautiful illustrated story into a novel. You really should write a book. You are an amazing writer and an even more amazing person. I know you like to not put so much of yourself out there for the world, so I feel lucky that you opened up to me the way you did. I think it was also fated that we met as well. Thank you for doing this review with me... If I just wrote it alone... it wouldn’t have been nearly as special. Thank you so much. Thank you for listening to my ideas, encouraging them and  even being there for me when I needed to vent about an awful & stressful day. 

Dani, 

“Sisters is probably the most competitive relationship within the family, but once the sisters are grown, it becomes the strongest relationship.  ~Margaret Mead”

You and I have come a LONG way in our relationship and have been through so much...experiencing things that most kids shouldn’t have to...but I think we turned out pretty damn good. ... Don't you think? We weren't raised by a family that hugged or said I love you on a daily basis... But I can say that although we were always divided into different worlds... I couldn't have asked for a better sister . 

Thank YOU for being apart of this project with me. I loved being able to connect with you over something this special and important to me. Thank you for listening to me gush for hours over Lee’s music and listening to me talk about my paintings while on the treadmill. Instead of making fun of me and telling me I am completely nuts..... you seem to get it. You know that there is no way I can fake the excitement I get when talking about something I believe in this much.

Thank you for ATTEMPTING to help me build my own frames for the art.... we worked the saw and we still have all our fingers... “Yah!”  and most of all, Thank you for not getting mad at me when I had to send you 100 texts a day asking when you’d be finished with your write ups. LOL. Although we are polar opposites.... you are the one person on this Earth that knows all the things that make me... ME...

I am truly proud of you for the woman that you grew up to be. You are an amazing mother, you work hard and you are always out there looking to be better. I’m proud to have you as my little sister. I love you! thank you again. 

I also want to thank all of the wonderful friends I have made and the entire “FamiLEE” ..... I’m truly blessed to be apart of such an amazing fandom. Yes, there is the occasional drama... and the divide amongst groups.. but that is what makes it real... like a REAL family.... Not everyone is going to have the same thoughts on everything, or like what the other has to say all the time. But you know what? It’s the love we have for Lee and he music that keeps us there... we are all there for the same purpose... to help show the the rest of world the part of Lee that we already saw.... Thank you for encouraging me... Re-tweeting my art and all the sweet comments. I didn’t grow up in a conventional family... but you all make me feel loved, make me smile when I need it and I love you all also! :-) 

Thank you! 

- Jenn

"Muse"

This painting is called “Muse”. It was not based on a song; I just wanted to capture the amazing picture that was taken by one of my awesome Twitter friends, a fabulous Lee Fan, @yoyosassy. (Thank you Yolanda for letting me use your photo!)

**this one is not yet finished. I had too many other ideas that I had to put this one on hold. But just to give you a visual, I have a special wooden frame idea in mind for this one. I’m going to paint each side of the frame with the designs from Lee’s guitar straps. As you can imagine, this will take some time… bare with me. It will be awesome though**

Since this painting was not inspired by a specific song, I had to think of a title for it. Right off the bat, no question about it… I thought “Muse” was the perfect Title. It’s the first thing that popped in my head the first time I even saw the picture.

What exactly is a Muse? The muse is something or someone that has the ability to excite our creative passion and call forth our creative spirit to create. It is an interesting character. At one level it is a figment of our imagination and doesn’t exist. At another level it is very real and vital to our creative endeavor and without them we are robbed of our creative power (this definition was taken from this site, which has all the different kinds of muse definitions-http://ryuc.info/common/creation_process/muse.htm )– My muse is the later part of this definition. My muse is very real and vital to my creative endeavor. You hear that lee DeWyze? If you ever stopped making music, I’d be robbed of my creative power…haha, so…keep doing your thang….I can not create unless you create (no pressure or anything)

It’s hard to explain exactly how I feel when I paint these, even to other Lee fans because there just aren’t words. The best way to describe it really is this strong, overwhelming unconscious burst of creativity every time I hear his voice. Sounds a bit dramatic, I know…but that is what it is. Having something affect you this strongly is rare. For some reason, I just connect with everything about this music, his voice, the lyrics… something is driving me to paint… so why would I ever want to stop that? Why not roll with it, ya know? Again, I do not expect people to understand it because I still don’t; I just create when my heart tells me to.

I have to admit something though, sometimes it is frustrating because painting these songs truly make me happy… it’s what I want to do….but it’s not like I can paint Lee art as a career. So then I think, what am I doing this for? (The answer is that it’s my outlet, but I mean on a broader spectrum) Haha. People at work ask me all the time “why are you here?” “Why don’t you get a job doing art?” Like I said before… I’m not happy doing art just because I am good at it. I have to FEEL it and right now… this is all I feel and this is what I want to do. It makes me happy, even if it’s a path that leads nowhere. End of story. I hope that at least makes a little bit of sense…

Now… here are the perspectives of my sister as someone just view the art as is and Mare, as a Lee DeWyze fan…(passes the torch…)

 

My sister, Danielle Mazzo:

Muse.....this painting explains my sister and her journey into her own mind. The birds flying from the feather to me is my sisters creativity flying into action...taking off from her once....I wanna paint but...into her OMG I have to paint!!! My sister has always been a great artist to me...because well she'd kick my butt if I didn't say that...jk but since she found her ”muse" she has grown into a phenomenal artist. This muse has given her art structure...heart....feeling!! Muse is not just a painting of a musician's ink....its art taking flight from the perspective of artists both in lyric and on canvas!! Many years my sister and I didn't really know each other as we are two very different people...but since her Muse came along I can finally catch a glimpse into my sister's heart mind and soul. So I guess thanks Lee DeWyze is in order. The more you inspire her the closer we get. Who would've thought a musician could do so much without even knowing it. 

And Mare :

 

 Inspiration..... we all need it. With it comes joy, clarity, creativity..... It comes in many forms for each of us. But for each one of us.... inspiration breathes LIFE into our days. It influences our emotions, our thoughts and our actions....and sometimes it can bring people together. When the sole, original inspiration is so influential, that it creates a circle of creativity... what comes out of that can be amazing. 

Music. It speaks to all of us. It’s a form of communication... and often times, it takes the place of words. With the “right” music.... it speaks to those dusty corners of our soul. It creates stories, pictures, new ways of thinking.... an outlet for the words we can’t find ourselves. Sometimes those notes and words create a visual, a vibe, a feeling, a snapshot of your own world. When you connect to music, it becomes YOUR story.  

During the day, I am a pediatric speech pathologist. I LOVE what I do. I think communication is important. It’s how we connect as human beings. Communication isn’t always speech. It’s a touch, a look, an expression, a feeling, a posture, a drawing, a picture, a painting.......music. Music and writing are a large part of my life. It’s how I express what speech can’t. Words and notes inspire me..... they breathe life into what gets trapped by “thought”. Add to that, someone who can take a feeling of mine, an intangible “thing”... and allow me to see what it looks like.

I’m an extremely hard person to get to know and understand. I have definite walls....Writing for the music and art makes me REALLY look inside myself. I have to be able to let myself FEEL.... dig into my own heart.... and then let people have a glimpse of that. My thoughts, my heart.... It makes my walls come down when I write. Being inspired enough to trust and let go..... I’d say a “muse”  is a very important part of life....

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this one, it started out close to my heart already ... But adding Danielle's & Mare's points of view just set it off.

 Coming up will be my picture book album review of Lee's new album "Frames" I'll be posting the paintings for the each song in the order they appear on the album... Stay tuned! Excited!!!!! 

-Jenn