INSPIRED by blood, sweat & tears: READ ME

”..And all of the ink that was bled from your hands has painted a picture that she understands…it’s amazing…” 

 

..WAIT…What?? …Those are not Lee DeWyze lyrics? Are they? No, they are not, They are lyrics to a song called “Amazed” by Annie Decatur Danielweksi (aka Poe) 

And why are his hands bleeding? That’s creepy….. 

 

Let me explain: Let’s start with the blood, as it can come across pretty creepy but I promise you it is not. The bleeding fingers represent Lee putting his all into his music. His entire heart and soul, like he always does. The birds, like in his feather tattoo are flying up representing him putting himself out there with his work and me connecting enough to visualize it. You see now? And that brings it back to that Poe lyric; “And all of the ink that was bled from his hands has painted a picture that she understands…it’s amazing” That truly IS amazing in my opinion. 

 

Now, on to your next question…

 

Why would I do a picture of Lee playing his guitar and quote another artist’s lyric? This is another example of how the “circle of inspiration” is growing and how at the strangest times all the things that mean something to me seem to come together and make sense. 

 

You see, It is true, I have never been inspired to create before Lee and his music. No other voice has affected me the way Lee’s has. HOWEVER, when I was in high school I was a huge fan of Poe. Her music was haunting & beautiful yet dark and angry… she “got” me. Not the way Lee’s music did, but still….. 

If I could explain the comparison on how each voice affects me differently it would be this: 

Poe’s voice and lyrics are a lot like my inner voice.. like if I was venting, hoping or just needing to shout out a scream just to feel better….  but Lee’s voice and lyrics are comforting to me, like after screaming out in frustration, his music is kind of like a comforting arm around you telling you it will be ok and taking you home. Make sense?

Although the impact Poe’s music had on me was way different than Lee’s, I have all kinds of stories about certain songs and how they fit into my life or remind me of certain events at that time… but those will stay in my head, not sure you could handle those ….

 

Anyway, I was listening to my iPod at work and “Amazed” came on… I have listened to this song way more than a million times over the years, I know all the lyrics by heart…. But this time, that lyric… it hit me, it made me think of how I feel being inspired by Lee’s music and there is was… a visual! I never had a visual for someone else’s lyrics ever, but when I did… it was OF Lee… weird, huh? 

 

I have sketched a Poe song recently that you will recognize: 

I am the kind of person that then thinks back to the “whys” I mean, it did not make me want to draw back then... but there was something about it I was drawn to… now there is a reason. Know what I mean? I’ve told you numerous times before how exhausting it is to live inside this brain, you are feeling it now, aren’t you? Ha-ha. 

 

I just really wanted to share that with you because as the idea came, my mind was blown and I was soooo excited. Here is a link to hear the song: http://youtu.be/smc18aecLuI 

 

The funny thing is, maybe about 2-3 months ago, I was listening to Poe and wondered what happened to her, was she making new music? I was able to find some stuff she has done under other names besides Poe (this having to do with a major falling out with the record label) Well I found a few songs she had done with a band called ; Conjure One. They all had a slight techno-y feel to them, which isn’t really my style, but there was this one that I am now obsessed with. It is called ‘One word” and I tell you this in all honestly, from the bottom of my heart that if you could put how Lee’s music, lyrics and voice make me feel into a tribute song…. This would be it. I am posting the link to that song below, I will warn you, the opening “music” sounds a little creepy… but keep listening, I know you will love it and you will know EXACLTY what I am talking about. 

Listen to “One word” here: 

 http://youtu.be/nNwP5iOZFUE

 

 

Another cool fact about the song “Amazed” by Poe, it’s on her album called “Haunted’. It you listen to this album, as first you will be like, huh? Because each song is telling a story that doesn’t really make sense to you, with all these voices and talking before and after…. The album is a soundtrack to coincide with a book called “House of Leaves, written by her brother, Mark Danielweksi, who is an amazing writer. I am actually re-reading this book now. If you ever have a chance, purchase this album and the book. I know you will love it. 

 

I’d also like to add, If Lee and Poe ever collaborated, I could die happy (and yes, I have a Poe song for that too)... that would be so amazing and you have no idea how happy that would make me!!!! 

 

Art, Music, Inspiration & New Year's Resolutions

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Hello everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday and New Year and most importantly staying warm!

 

On New Year’s Day, I went out to buy a new sketch book. An Actual, good sized sketchbook…meant for sketching. Before I was using a lined writing journal…. I am pretty excited about it….oh, and the most exciting feature? The outside cover is plain white painting canvas…so I can paintit!

 

With the New Year, came all the snow and horrible weather, so I got to break in my book right away! **just to set some of your minds at ease, I have not abandoned the “Stay Away” painting… it’s just that we have yet to get the house totally back to normal from Christmas so all my painting stuff is away. Sketching is quick, easy and can be done anywhere… the paints I have to set up, clean brushes, etc…

 

I was thinking about my art & a conversation I had with a good friend that is an established artist and apparently it takes 10,000 hours to master your craft. I have also been thinking about resolutions and how I have never in my life saw one through; I’m sure most of you can relate to that. This year however, I decided that I am going to try to commit to a sketch a day for the entire year. Trust me; I ALWAYS have stuff on my mind… so this should be easy, right? My first few sketches are actually based on old, pre-Idol Lee Songs…. Just certain lyrics that have always spoke to me or have a special place in my heart. There are visuals that I have had in my mind for paintings in the past that never made it to canvas. 

This sketching resolution is the perfect outlet for those images. So, I’m sure you are wondering, since I have already been asked…”you are going to have 365 sketches of Lee DeWyze lyrics??? No. …. Maybe just 300 or so… haha.  Honestly, a lot of them will be lyrically inspired, I won’t lie... but I am going to include things that I see that may just look interesting to meor things that I hold close to my heart. Have no worries, I have been spending no more than an hour a day on these pages, so I will continue to work on my paintings… I still have several in the works, so 2014 will be a busy year! If you’d like to follow the sketch a day for a year journey, you can do that on instagram under JENNMHARDING also, I am not making any promises, but 365 pages is a lot… so I am making a list of things I can think of now. If you have a specific line or something Lee related you’d like me to do… send it my way and I’ll put it on the list to maybe do in the future!

 

On the status of my paintings for the “Frames” songs, I have a some work left on “Stay Away” … My plan was to go right into “Breathing In”, HOWEVER, I have come up with an idea for Lee’s new song “Again” and will be going right into that because I’m pretty excited about this one. …. Stay tuned! And do not forget to go tohttp://leedewyzeofficial.com/ to check in and see what Lee is working on!

 

 

 

 

A visual review of Lee DeWyze's new album "Frames" track #'s 5 & 6...

I am giving Mare and Danielle the night off! ...a very well deserved night off....

This post will be a little different because the next two tracks, “Like I Do” & “Open Your Eyes” have not yet made it to canvas. Not because I like them any less, just a matter of having the time to paint. I do have images already in mind for them, So I thought I’d walk you through how my mind works when I’m listening to these songs. 

**After the paintings are on canvas, we will go back to get all points of view like the other posts**

I will warn you now though, there is no possible way to describe everything that goes through my mind during my creative process.. trust me, You’d get dizzy.... 

I will start with track #5: “Like I Do”

For as much as I LOVE this song and can relate to this it (as I am sure we all do or did at some point of our lives..), I was having a hard time picturing the exact image I wanted to portray. I have so many but at first my mind just kept going right to the lyric “You were standing there, with street lights in your hair” ...That seemed like just the obvious route and I didn't feel I’d do the song justice.

 I was watching the movie “Hitch” the other night and in one of my favorite scenes there is a line from Albert (Kevin James) where he says to Hitch, “You know what it is like getting up every morning feeling hopeless, feeling like the love of your life is waking up with the wrong man? But, at the same time, hoping that she still finds happiness, even if it’s never going to be with you?” I love love love that line, especially when you look at his character and the character he is talking about. Anyway (I warned you, my mind is a labyrinth...) The point of that was that I was watching that movie and thought, “damn, that song would be a perfect in that scene.” Now, back on track....

 This is a song that everyone can relate to, whether you are looking at it from a jealousy standpoint like, seeing your ex with someone new, knowing that you will always be better for them. That new person could never know them the way you did. Which Is how I hear the song being told...OR...from the perspective of seeing someone you love, whether they know it or not, seeing them with someone thinking that the person they are with could never love them or know them the way you do. I think every single one of you have been in one, if not both of those situations. 

Today at work I was listening to “Like I do”  and I finally had a thought that I was pretty happy with.... But I am not going to tell you! :-)  I said I’d explain my thought process... not give away any surprises.... 

Now Onto Track #6: “Open your Eyes” 

This song...needs to be on a movie soundtrack, like.. ASAP... It’s beautiful, haunting, and brilliant! If I were a film writer, I’d seriously write a movie just so I could use this song.....which is why... I have decided to make this one a self portrait. Now, no worries... I’m not going to paint a “selfie” holding a rose.. or anything cheesy like a typical self portrait.. hopefully you all know me well enough that you kinda figured that... 

To me, when I say it should be in a movie. I have a specific scene in mind... I picture hearing it when the lead character has a life changing epiphany, when they realize something they should have been seeing all along .... 

I relate to this song on so many levels from “Everyone can see, Everyone but me” to “Remembering where I end and where you start”... 

I often think about the fact that my life is  MY movie... it has constant plot twists, dream sequences, main characters as well as characters that have been written off or those yet to appear. There are a lot of things personally specific to me where this song is screaming at me to open my eyes.... It just strikes this cord deep inside me so deeply, there was no other option for me than to portray...me...... 

I will share something awesome with you though since I teased you earlier... It’s not a promise because I have yet to try it and see if it will even work, but my HOPES for this painting are you have a super, 3D textured background.... I plan on ATTEMPTING to first cover the canvas with the lyrics in raised braille... not sure where that came from, but when the thought  ran through my head I was pretty damn excited ..... 

So, there you have it... if I went through every single thought in my head we’d be here forever.  haha. The next post will be back to our regular format for Track #7 “You don’t know me” ... talk to ya soon!!!!!! Have an awesome night 

- Jenn