Synesthesia Sunday | Morning Light

The idea for this post came about while browsing @yidneth's open mic entry. She does some amazing art to accompany her music, and this made me think about how art and music are connected.

Synesthesia is a condition in which one sense (for example, hearing) is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses such as sight. Another form of synesthesia joins objects such as letters, shapes, numbers or people's names with a sensory perception such as smell, colour or flavor.

Synesthesia is a world in it's own but it made me think about how art can represent music and vice-versa. I haven't really experienced actual synesthesia, but I figured I could attempt to draw what @yidneth's music made me feel.

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The Music

Morning Light by Priscilla Hernandez

This was the song that inspired this post. It's a beautiful song about befriending your monsters that she wrote using her experience with sleep paralysis as inspiration. Priscilla is a bit like a forest elf that comes straight from a fantasy land who reassures you through ethereal music that everything is going to be OK. This song resonated with me as I felt the hope and optimism the song conveyed despite the melancholic undertones. Darkness and light exist in a delicate balance, and somehow this song encompasses both, reminding us that the morning light will eventually shine.
The song also felt like a protective bubble that will keep the monsters at bay when it's being played, and any little kid afraid of nightmares, that listens to it will feel the glow of sunrise.

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The Art

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The Process

I wanted this to be a free draw, meaning once the headphones are plugged in, I let the pens flow without using reference images or thinking too much about the final outcome.

I start by drawing some vague monster looking shapes and a protective bubble with a pencil.

I then go over these shapes, detailing them with pens. I use a thick 0.8mm pen for outlines and a thin 0.1mm pen for the lines in between. I drew the thinner lines randomly using a jagged/sharp aesthetic to fill up the space.

The last step is adding colour. It turns out my paints are actually something called gouache paints and they can look transparent like watercolours or opaque like poster paint. I'm yet to discover the full potential of what they can do. For this drawing I experimented by mixing yellow and red paint to bring some life to the protective bubble that represents the music.

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If you liked the music, consider leaving some encouragement on @yidneth's original post.
Steemit Open Mic week #78 (my first entry) - Morning Light (Original Song)

We're well into Monday, but Synesthesia Sunday has that ring to it. I don't really have a posting schedule, but I'm thinking of making this a weekly post. There's so much talent here on steemit and this is a neat little way to bridge the gap between musicians and artists. It'd also be amazing if more creative people did their own spin on this. You don't have to have synesthesia to view art through a different lens.

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