My Top 10 List of Music to Paint By

This will definitely be an opinionated post. Music, like art, is such a diverse selection when it comes to choice. There is no doubt that visual artists have an affinity for beautiful music, as well. It is a question that I get asked quite often. Inspiration comes from many sources, and music is one source.

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I am not ranking these in order of favorites. Full disclosure: this list is going to hint at my age. I'm not afraid of guesses.

Music choice in the studio definitely varies from artist to artist. Many like classical or non-vocal sounds. Folk, blues, country, and modern jazz are also popular. From what I can gather, it is more about the tempo and the “feel” of the music that an artist seeks out than a genre. A lot of artists say they like listening to music in languages they don’t speak, as in perhaps Andrea Bocelli — so that the songs become more sound than words. Like other things, it's all relative.

Here's my list

1. Gabriel's Oboe

I started with what might be #1 because when I do listen to this version of Gabriel's Oboe from the movie "The Mission" by composer, Ennio Morricone, it sends chills up my body. I would have to be painting something smooth and visually dynamic. I can't say that I finished a particular work while listening to this music. but I titled a painting "The Mission", based on the score by Morricone. In my mind, outer space evokes a mission so this image resulted in the artwork below.

The Mission by Annie Mason abstract watercolor

2. You Can Go Your Own Way

By Fleetwood Mac

I have no idea but I love the lyrics, the beat, and maybe the heart of doing things my way when I am painting. Fleetwood Mac is, indeed, a part of my formative years, so there's that.

"One" by Annie Mason pen and ink mandala

3. Acoustic Soul. Album by India.Arie

This is the one playlist of mine that is a full album. I discovered this music artist when I was regularly joining Dr. Bertice Berry on her early morning Periscope sessions. (This video live-streaming platform formally closed its doors on March 31, 2021). Dr. Berry frequently had music playing in the background during her video segments. I discovered India.Arie, a dynamic vocalist, and songwriter. Inspirational in her content it inspires me to be my own self, to not render to another person's view of the world. Her songs, Beautiful and Break the Shell are wonderful lyrics that commit to being yourself and not the people who put ideas into your head, ie., the parents, the spouse, the "best" friend, the teacher, and others who you listened to as the word of God. Just be yourself.

Free to Be by Annie Mason watercolor and pen

4. Everything by Michael Bublé

The soft, easy listening style of Michael Bublé sets a tone of a laid-back, devil-may-care, "life is good" atmosphere. A great way to paint.

Cat and His Thoughts by Annie Mason. watercolor

5. Shower the People by James Taylor

Speaking of "laid-back", what better choice than James Taylor . Tried and true singer, a songwriter who cuts through generations who still love his stuff. This singer/songwriter, however, is a part of my youth, flower power, mini skirts, Vietnam war protests, baby boomer (oops, that's under duress by other generations...butI won't go there). James Taylor is an icon. Pick a song from among so many: How Sweet it Is (to be loved by you), Shower the People, Fire and Rain, and so many more. Painting to his great collection is a joy.

Summer of Love by Annie Mason watercolor and pen

6. The Four Seasons by Vivaldi

I love classical music but do not often paint listening to classical music. I don't quite know why that is? Classical form is so varied with tempo, subdued, then vibrant. I think this might be why. I would have a hard time changing my brushstroke to match the sound. The selection of Four Seasons does just that but this image comes close to the image that I might have painted.

This is a tutorial (yes, artists do tutorials, too) from Watercolor for Absolute Beginner by Mark & Mary Willenbrinck. Chapter "Negative Painting" pgs. 84 - 87.

Solstice by Annie Mason watercolor tutorial

7. Water Under Bridges by Gregory Porter

Nothing like a little Jazz, blues, or gospel to smooth the weary soul. Again, this vocalist was introduced to me at our Periscope video sessions with Dr. Bertice Berry. Wonderful voice and pure soothing sound.

8. Seasons of Love

from the Broadway show Rent

Broadway shows and movies have some great songs. When you love'em, you can usually sing'em. We all have memorable songs that we can sing...so why not paint and sing. Sound of Music, Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King, West Side Story, Wicked, Hamilton, and Frozen 🙉, and many more.

Warms My Heart by Annie Mason abstract watercolor

9. Hello by Adele

I pay attention to current songs and singers, but not feverishly as when I was younger. Our daughter's playlist has Taylor Swift and others that are contemporary. If I catch someone that appeals to my ear you may find me adding that to my studio music. At Christmas you can count on me adding Pentatonix. Their harmonies and interpretation of popular songs are amazing. Yes, "Hallelujah" is a favorite along with watching the original video. Amazing group sound.

10. Josh Groban, Idina Menzel, Kelly Clarkson, Neil Young, Jason Mraz...

Oh. oh. I didn't realize how many songs/singers I listen to in my art studio. Truth be told, I don't always listen to music when I paint. I find myself concentrating on what I am doing. The flick of a paintbrush because I'm singing (and maybe dancing) can be catastrophic if I'm about to add my signature to a finished painting.

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I can think of a lot more songs that I can associate with particular paintings. This topic is interesting to me, as I have asked about it in my Meet the Artist series. I went ahead and googled (verb) "Music to Paint By". Whoa. Do the search on YouTube and you will see the results are endless. If you are an artist and have a favorite genre of music to paint by, drop a comment in this post. I would love to hear from you.

Thank you for reading this post.

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Songs to Paint By Songs from the Key of Live:A Tribute to Stevie Wonder

I Need to Paint My Walls Take Me to the King

Smooth Jazz A Tribute to Alicia Keys Music to Paint by

3 Print-on-Demand Website Reviews

My introduction to Print-on-Demand website began in 2015, see Unfinished Owl That seems so long ago yet it began my journey into uploading my artwork to these sites.

Let's start with the definition: A Print-on-Demand (POD )site is a place where artists and designers can do their thing and then go through a process of sending their artworks to the site where the platform has products to sell with the images on those items. The products

are then transferred to the artists' or the designer's stores where they are displayed, described, priced, then purchased. The artist/designer gets a percentage of the sales. It's that easy.

Winter Robin iPhone Case by Amy Hamilton

The prompt began when my daughter gave me a phone case with a small bird on the case. I loved it. She told me where she purchased it (Society6) and said, "Mom, you could do this." And I did. I did a little research on the site and started making small images in watercolor. The upload process was a bit time-consuming because the assets had to be created for each individual product and uploaded for each.

Since that time Society6 has done what many other sites have done: The upload is for two or three sizes and then they are populated into each product at once. This can then be tweaked by the artist, if necessary.

To make income in the "art world", the tradition is that you paint, or draw, or illustrate, and then find someone who sees your work and buys it, or show at a gallery and someone buys it and the gallery gets a commission, or someone approaches you because they want a pet portrait. That's where the dollars come.

Now, these sites manufacture the artwork from your designs, then post them to your "store", they sell, earnings accrue, and the funds are sent to the artist.

There are a lot of POD sites in the world. For this post, I am reviewing the three POD platforms which I use.

Disclaimer: I am an associate for each of these platforms. I will earn a small commission from any purchase at no extra cost to you. If you make a purchase, I thank you.

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Society6 is my first dive into this world. When compared to other PODs, I think S6 has the artist/designer at the forefront in terms of a classier company. For background on the beginnings click this interview with co-founder, Justin Wills The Brains Behind Society6

Like its competitors, Society6 lets creators sell their designs on various products. Unlike them, it prioritizes original art over popular slogans. See artist Carrie Lyman [Lyman Creative Co.]. Carrie was featured in a Society6 blog post who satisfies her wanderlust as a digital illustrator with her art.

Marrakech Medina Shop, Morocco

Society 6 Pros:

• Customers have their choice of designs from the thousands of different artists who submit to Society6. They can choose to have these designs printed on a phone case, a t-shirt, or whatever else it is that they’re looking for.

• Society6 is open to creators of all kinds of art. If you draw, doodle, paint, or digitally illustrate, you can capitalize on Society6.

• As an artist, the site allows you to retain the rights to your art. This gives you the opportunity to post on other sites, like Fine Art America,

• Unlimited image uploads.

• Society6 determines how much you can make for the sale of a given item. However, for art prints, you can choose your own price.

• While you won’t make a living by selling your artwork on Society6, you can, at the very least, rake in some decent spending money.

Society6 Cons:

• With thousands of artists on this site, your competition is heavy. An artist must post frequently and take the time to make sure each upload looks good on each product.

• In order to bring in substantial money, you need to promote your products as much as possible.

• Artists need to check the products carefully, as not all artwork may convert to a pleasant-looking product. There is a 30-day waiting period for sales. If the product is not to the liking of the buyer it will be canceled and the artist will not receive a commission.

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(click the image below to shop)

Founded in 2006, in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia). this online company has grown big enough to have additional offices in San Francisco, California (USA).

Like Society6, Redbubble has hundreds of products and a myriad of ways to find them. A search bar will immediately get you to designs and products where you will be struck by how many options are available.

Cat Mug

(image links broadly to Redbubble)

It seems to me that Redbubble has its sights on the products, rather than the artists. This site allows the artist to set up in bulk, that is, it makes it easy to upload and sell your designs on all the latest new products, Like other POD websites, getting customers is the hardest part of selling. Merchandise here tends to be T-shirts, stickers, device cases, and posters. In other words, I think a younger clientele. While the products are cataloged quite well, the items can be overwhelming for the average shopper.

Many of my artist friends use Redbubble. Among my favorite gals, "Belette Le Pink". I featured her in one of my Meet the Artist blog posts.

Mouse Pad "Weasel Hugs" by Belette Le Pink

Redbubble Pros:

• You only need to upload one jpg for each piece of art you want to sell, and Redbubble will quickly put that art on all of their products with only a small amount of tweaking needed to make the art fit properly.

• Redbubble lets you completely control your products and your profit margin - you decide your prices, you pay a flat fee to Redbubble for every product sold, and what’s left is yours to keep.

Redbubble Cons:

• You are competing with all the other artists on the Redbubble marketplace; once you send your customer to Redbubble, you are also sending that customer to every single other artist on Redbubble! There is every chance that they end up distracted by someone else’s work.

• The profits are small, even for print-on-demand.

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Zazzle is an American online marketplace founded in 2005. Zazzle's CEO Robert Beaver and his sons, Jeff and Bobby, focus on products that can’t be found elsewhere. The list is enormous but includes baby items, invitations, clothing and shoes, crafts and party supplies, sports toys and games, and much much more.

Many products can be customized: that is, the artist clicks an edit form, personalizing products. It makes for a very special gift, and for me, that is the true difference in this POD shop.

I will post one of my products below with a link to show you how a shopper can purchase a product that they can personalize:

Click the photo below ⬇️ to the Zazzle shop. Note the Personalize this template. The shopper can then change the name, edit, then click DONE and make the purchase.

Baby bib with child's name

Zazzle Pros:

• You are your own boss

• You can make money monthly

• The buyer can apply personalization

• Set your royalty rate

Zazzle Cons:

• Being your own boss means you have to be accountable.

• Minimum balance of $50 before payout.

• The minimum royalty rate is 5%, which for some products, literally equates to pennies.

• It takes some learning and time to succeed on the platform.

If you haven't tried shopping on these sites, it's worth the browse. There are some amazing artists and designers who are making passive income (doing what they like to do) and have the POD shop do the manufacturing, and the shipping, A win/win for the artist and the platform

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You can find my POD shops here on my website by clicking here: Annie's POD Shops

or direct to the shops here:

Society6

Redbubble

Zazzle

See my Collections at each shop:

Society6 | Redbubble | Zazzle

Society6 Wooden Wonderland Barn Owls by Micklyn on an iPhone Case

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Sasquash Travel Mug by Sophie Corrigan

Dream VI Shower Curtain by SpaceFrogDesigns

Affiliate link. I earn a small commission if you follow this link

and purchase text apps or graphics.

Art Text is graphic design software specifically tuned for lettering, typography, text mockups and various artistic text effects. Take a look: ⬇️

Tough on threats, light on your system.

New Look; the big REVEAL.

The thoughts began a while ago. I began to dislike the palette; one of the many universal icons associated with an artist yet I don't know why I wanted it to be gone. While that's what I am. I am an artist. I guess I just wanted something that speaks more about me.

My daughter had long talks with me. She said, "Mom. This is you. Annie Mason, an artist". She's a minimalist; always thinking in terms that bring the subject down to "brass tacks."

This began my journey to overhaul my website, the brand, my focus, and my strategies towards building my future at the great age of 72.

I was having difficulty designing. Yes, me...an artist couldn't seem to come up with a "look". I would come across a webpage screaming "We can make a logo for you that will truly be the perfect match" and so on. I tried some. Wouldn't you know...all the questions that were presented to predict my niche and claim my "future" would plug me into the archetype: CREATIVE. Duh!

Again, down to the sublime. My name is Annie Mason. I am an artist. Surprisingly enough, the domain name "anniemasonart" was available. I took this as a sign...and claimed it.

The logo. I realized that I was in my own way. Soliciting the help of a designer at the printing service who does my artwork on greeting cards and wall art was the best decision that I made. After a little back and forth with email, and a few visits to her shop to discuss fonts/colors and placements, we narrowed the visuals down from the 5 or 6 drafts.

Here it is:

It's what I was looking for: clean, simple, and direct. This is me, this is what I do. The rest will come as I develop the areas of the website that I hope will draw (excuse the pun) a new audience. The plan is to concentrate on my local business, which has been my main attraction. I had a short period of listing my greeting cards on Etsy. The process of selling on this site got the best of me: taking "good" pictures of the cards, describing them succinctly, competing with a huge audience of card-makers, selling to an unknown, packaging the envelopes, coming up with nice thank-you items, getting them out in the mail, worrying about the customer satisfaction. and hoping for a nice review. Then, the fees. They do add up. It was too much back work. I'm not blasting Etsy. It's a platform for a lot of crafters, and yes, artists. It was not a good fit for me, however.

I have my designs printed by our local franchise Minuteman Press. While picking up an order of greeting cards, the manager noted that perhaps I should consider selling my cards in downtown Fredericksburg (Virginia). It was fortuitous that I did know someone who owns a shop downtown, and I made a note to make contact with her. Our partnership began and has been a real godsend to both of us as she does the better part of my connection with a new, and local audience. This is now my focus.

Strategies. Some have already been working. Heather, of Heather Boutique is my cheerleader. I have written about how I decided to take a picture of Caroline Street where the shop is located. Switching up on my typical watercolor medium, I used the reference photo and drew in pen and ink (which I love), and added some accent color with CRAYON.

Crayola Crayons, Sharpener Included, 96 Colors (Pack of 2)

See my blog post about how big a decision this change in medium turned out to be.

A change of pace, and style

Here is the Caroline Street view that is pen and ink, and color in crayon. It's a great combination. I love the fact that I don't have to wait for watercolor to dry, and I don't have to worry about "ink" bleeding into any wet areas and becoming an "oh oh."

The strong perspective down the well-known shopping spot seems to please the buyers. And buyers have shown up. I have prints made for the new Fredericksburg Collection and I truly can't tell you how many prints that I have sold in the two years since this has begun.

Here it is. Thank you for reading this journey. I owe a lot to the fellow bloggers at The Bloggers Traffic Community (The Hub). This is not just a share-your-thread group. Its membership supports each other and members have the opportunity to join (or not) specific areas like Pinterest/Instagram Group, YouTube Creators Group, Travel Bloggers, Food Bloggers, Lifestyle Blogger, as well as The BTC Supporters and Traffic Community. I have learned so much about blogging, as well as SEO, Affiliate Marketing, Elementor/WordPress, and so much more. Click here for The Hub. If you're a blogger you will love this community.

Those of you who joined me on the former "Annie's Palette" site, thank you for being there and for your support. Your subscription won't change since this site is a carry-over from that former site. I will soon be ramping up some special offers for those who choose to subscribe to Annie Mason Art. Don't miss any events!

Do you want to learn some new skills? This site is a great place to start. ⬇️

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