Of Art and Music

A friend made this comparison, recently: For the most part, we make music to play it for or even with others. When we create art, it is typically a solitary experience.

But are these two creative avenues so different, or are they more alike than this observation suggests?

When I'm drawing, I sometimes notice several things happening internally. For one, I notice my thoughts regarding the particular image at hand (pardon the pun). A drawing may evoke a memory or an interest, such as the desire to visit a place I've not yet seen. Or a random song might come to mind and, often, I find myself humming or softly singing as I draw.

Rocky Mountain Rails at Sunset

Often, I experience an inward turning, toward a calm space, a place of contentment and balance. Access to that space does not seem limited to the creation of the visual arts, however; rather, it is shared across each art form, no matter how it is finally expressed. 

Granted, performing a song in public appears in opposition to creating a piece of visual art. Yet I notice that the creativity in the performance itself feels much the same as when I am drawing. Further, songs can induce a picture in my mind, which can later become a drawing on a page. Thus, for me, songs as art, whether I am writing or performing them, begin in the same solitary secret place, even when they culminate in collaboration. In that respect, a song can be an invitation to share that space for a time, to complete the creative process.  

What remains the same for both is that each can be shared again and again. A song can be played and replayed, and a work of visual art can be revisited, too. And, given each is seen with fresh ears/eyes, the joy they evoke can be renewed beyond their creation.