First off, I had SO much fun with this! Thank you, Temi!

 

Research and Inspiration

I knew from the top that my inspiration was Brit (Insta: @britchida | website). They recently did a series called 'Social Nearing' of abstract shapes in acrylic on paper; the series celebrated being close to others. The shapes in their work spoke to me so much and the concept of thinking about togetherness, connection, and even solitude in abstract form really allowed for the messiness and beauty in relationships.

Music is so personal and it really has gotten me through a lot of ebbs and flows, like most folks. So I wanted to explore that concept abstractly with shapes.

 

Rough sketches

 

I was immediately drawn to the bottom two! Onto colors...

 

Color Moodboards

I went through photos I had taken of places and things at a particular time when listening to music got me through a lot of turmoil. I pulled a lot from sunrises and sunsets, landscapes, and favorite coffee shops.

 

Final product

I had played around with the two bottom quadrants of the sketches and landed on one. In Procreate, I was focused on adding textural elements to the piece. I really liked how the shapes looked impressed upon with texture. Don't certain songs have so much emotion and memories tied to them? For me, texture explored that concept abstractly.

I then uploaded it to Illustrator and added the text.

A very reminiscent playlist is coming soon, featuring lots of Moses Sumney, Sufjan Stevens, Frank Ocean, and James Blake! Excited to celebrate the musicians whose music sparked so much joy for me in the midst of chaos.

Another BIG thank you to Temi! I love your work and classes. This was a blast.