Each piece that I start is worked on to the same music, much to the consternation of room mates and spouses. Apparently, each painting has its own soundtrack.

It seems that an internal routine gets set with the music and I have an almost impossible time re-finding the mindset that I was working from when I stop working. I hate it when my my train of thought derails! Music serves me by blotting out external stimuli, which I have a hard time filtering.

Music also acts as a sort of emotional/ intellectual mnemonic device for me. It helps in keeping my work from becoming overly preoccupied with detail and stiff. In short, I can set aside technical aspects of art and ride on an emotional stream pouring out of the speakers.

A wall of sound protects me from the outside world and allows me to put my brain on artistic/autistic autopilot. This frees me to work as I see and at hand rather than dealing with niggling mental subroutines.

I tend to get utterly immersed when listening to music anyways, working or no. Sometimes my eyes roll back in my head and I cry unconsciously.

When I’m perusing new cd’s to purchase, one of the biggest criteria is “Can I work to it?”

which is , btw, one of the greatest compliments that I can pay any given album.

Currently in heavy rotation are:

Afro-Celt Sound System: Anatomic

Sound Track: Tout Les Matins du Monde Crappy film, GREAT performance by Jordi Savall

Bjork: Post

Tanzwut – Ihr wolltet Spaß Tanzwut are the boys from Corvus Corax plugged in

Gjallerhorn All albums. An awesome group of Swedes residing in Finland. As a didg player as well as visual artist, this stuff makes me crazy

In Extremo All albums. Another Mittelaltel Metal band from Germany, similar to Tanzwut

Mozart: Requiem Mass performed by the Wiener Philharmoniker

I’m an artist. I’m also a musician. In addition to these things I’ve also been diagnosed High Functioning Autistic/Aspergers.

Now the autism label can be fraught with mythconceptions. I don’t necessarily consider it (at least for me) a disability…well, maybe at parties. Rather I consider it to be who I am, rather like having blue eyes or an allergy to ragweed pollen.

More importantly I hold firm to the notion that I don’t need to be “Cured”, social interaction difficulties aside.

In the coming posts I’m going to try and document my artistic process, my thoughts on autism in general and whatever else strikes my fancy.