Watch This Space presents: Doodle Session, Episode 1 – with teethlikescrewdrivers

Our new Doodle Session series is a deep dive into the creative process of some of our favourite artists. We sit down and let the creative energy flow as they draw, doodle and mark a page, all while we ask a few questions and explore what makes them tick, the role drawing plays, and how it all comes together.

Episode one of our Doodle Sessions features none other than teethlikescrewdrivers – whose energy is evident in the way he annotates our conversation with drawings, from school chairs to pencils, self-portraits to phrases – check it out and get inspired!

Keep an eye out for future episodes on our YouTube channel!

TUNE! with PK

One of the best things about the TUNE! project is seeing the diverse range of influences different artists reveal. The spectrum of musical collections is a great reminder that nothing is monolithic. It is easy to assume graffiti writers and street artists are all simple stereotypes (hooded vandals or hipster artists), the reality is, of course, not so monochromatic. For this edition of TUNE!, we talk to enigmatic local graffiti writer, photographer and urban explorer PK, who drops an eclectic mix of tunes, from Grace Jones and The Brian Jonestown Massacre to Dam Native and The Birthday Party, a perfect example of spiraling influences…

PK: Music is my second biggest obsession (the first isn’t hard to guess!). I think music is definitely the cooler of the two. I don’t often listen to stuff while I’m painting or going about my day now, but I have fun memories of boosting around on all night missions as a teenager listening to my punk cassettes and BBC One In The Jungle mixes. I wanted this list to have a bit of everything I enjoy but it got to like 50 songs so I cut it down to a lucky 13 that I think represents most of what I’ve been listening to recently…

Burning Witch – Stillborn

Lydia Lunch – Friday Afternoon

Joanne Robertson – Hi Watt

The Brian Jonestown Massacre – E to G

Flipper – Shed No Tears

Townes Van Zandt – White Freight Liner Blues

Alexander ‘Skip’ Spence – Grey/Afro

Scraps – Baby Baby

Grace Jones – Me! I Disconnect From You

Strawberry Switchblade – Trees and Flowers

The Birthday Party – Sonny’s Burning

Dam Native – Battle Styles

Marilao – F*@k Me Moon [Morph]

TUNE! is an ever-growing playlist of the music that inspires our favourite creatives – stay tuned for our next edition!

Showtime!

Vacation from Reality – Pener, Fiksate Gallery, 15th July, 2022

Polish artist Pener’s mid-Winter residency at Fiksate culminated with a stunning show at the Sydenham Gallery. Despite the cold and wet weather, Vacation from Reality was irresistable, with the artist’s striking abstract paintings spilling subtly onto the walls behind, extending the impact of the bold lines, colours and forms. The combination of bright and muted colours, along with the dynamic compositions wowed the crowd, who were treated to the sublime work of an international visitor with a refined practice…

Do you have a show coming up? Let us know at [email protected]!

Gearing Up – Dcypher Apparel

Since returning home from a stint living in Los Angeles, Dcypher has quickly cemented his reputation and one of Aotearoa’s most talented and prolific mural artists, without missing a beat with his signature graffiti pieces. With his artistic roots firmly planted in graffiti and skate culture, his art has always teemed with the energy of street culture. Much of Dcypher’s work, including his graffiti, reflects the urban cityscape and elements of urban culture, making for the perfect aesthetic for his latest undertaking – the street wear line Dcypher Apparel.

T-Shirts have long been a staple of urban culture; the DIY fashions of Hip-Hop and Punk have celebrated the statement potential of the garment, while the physicality of skateboarding means loose-fit comfort provides a practical attraction. From Jimbo Phillips’ iconic Santa Cruz Screaming Hand, to the Bones Brigade, Powell-Peralta and Vision Street Wear designs, Zoo York and OBEY, tees have been a way to proclaim your cultural, political and stylistic affiliations. Likewise, t-shirts provide creatives with a canvas that reaches a wider audience, stretching beyond the wall or the gallery.

As a skateboarder and graffiti artist, t-shirt designs were a natural progression for Dcypher, his bold illustrative and graphic style translating well to the printed format, while his imagery was already attuned to the urban wear aesthetic. Inspired by the likes of Evan Hecox’s Chocolate Skateboards, he began dabbling in the idea of t-shirt designs while still in Los Angeles, producing images for his CBS crewmates. Dcypher initially considered an online, made-to-order approach, scaling down overheads, but the hyper competitive US market made it a tough proposition to crack.

By the time he returned to Aotearoa, Dcypher had collated a stockpile of t-shirt images. Enter Tim Ellis, founder of fashion company Movers and Shakers. Dcypher had met Ellis through Truth Dubstep, when the artist had worked with the musicians on logos and promotional designs. Ellis brought the industry know-how, connections and capital to Dcypher Apparel, allowing the artist creative freedom to put his designs onto tees and into the world as creative director. The Dcypher Apparel brand was born.

While initially hesitant to use his hard-earned graffiti name as the brand identity, it has ultimately proved beneficial due to his reputation in the urban art world. As creative director, Dcypher leads the designs, but also ensures he has input in where the shirts are stocked, choosing locations based on their connection to skate and graffiti culture, providing the right audience for the brand and a sense of authenticity. There is always a tricky line between making a brand accessible and still elevating it above mass-produced fast fashion, making sure it gets into the right hands – urban wear and youth culture is all about influence. Locally, the tees are available at Embassy on Colombo Street and Encompass at The Tannery, as well as further afield at Cheapskates Wanganui, Fusion in Wellington, Pavement in Dunedin and The Plugg in Kaitaia. Dcypher acknowledges these locations guarantee the right audience and, vitally, respect the cultures that gave birth to the brand.

Although Dcypher’s personal style leans towards the understated these days, favouring a plain black tee, the lure of a t-shirt serving as another platform for his art is undeniable. Rather than developing a completely new approach, Dcypher’s t-shirt designs are drawn from his mural, wall, studio and digital designs, the artist feeling his way through the process and making changes where needed to suit the cotton canvas. And yet, the designs can also be unique from large-scale works, which often require more compromise. The t-shirt graphics are free-form, following the artist’s interests as they develop, rather than being proscribed by briefs from above. The designs (on upsized tees, as preferred by skaters who value the freer movement) feature urban landscapes, Dcypher’s signature skulls, characters and graffiti pieces, sometimes all worked together. Other works take on specific narratives, from corporate greed to Noah’s Ark and Eastern influences. Dcypher’s iconic, but now obscured, Welcome to Christchurch postcard mural (the text mid-construction in reference to the rebuild), has also been rendered as a design. With a growing range, Dcypher continues to develop new ideas for seasonal release, including the exploration of glow-in-the-dark printing.

As an artist brand, Dcypher Apparel is less concerned with fashion trends, and more about the art and aesthetic as a reflection of Dcypher’s style. T-shirts, with their broad appeal and ability to reach a wide audience, allow the artist and his art to engage audiences in new ways. As Dcypher suggests, young people don’t often buy art, but they do buy t-shirts, and he hopes his tees can connect the two worlds.

For more about Dcypher Apparel’s range and for stockists, follow @dcypher_apparel on Instagram or visit  https://dcypher-apparel.myshopify.com/

Showtime!

Things I Thought You’d Say or Don’t – Josh Bradshaw, Absolution, 3rd June, 2022

Josh Bradshaw’s first solo show in several years (and the first under his real name) gathered a crowd on Friday, June 3rd at Absolution in The Arts Centre. Things I Thought You’d Say or Don’t presented a collection of works that indicate Bradshaw’s new creative direction, explorations of the urban environment that utilise an array of materials and techniques, producing a punk-infused, anarchic and yet poised range of evocative images. A good crowd braved the chilly June weather on the night, buoyed by the art and, of course, the barrel of Double Browns…

A pair of disposable cameras allowed people to document the night…

Josh Bradshaw, right, with fellow artist Harry King from Absolution

There was a busy crowd throughout the night

Our pal, Beartrap drummer Mitch Barnard was all smiles

Only the finest drinks…

Do you have a show coming up? Let us know by emailing [email protected]

Tune! with Jessie Rawcliffe

Jessie Rawcliffe is our next contributor to Tune! our ever-growing playlist of the music that inspires our favourite creatives. Jessie has built a reputation for her stunning works, often portrait-based, and constructed with intricate, painstaking detail. Her painting of Pōneke based tattooist and artist Richard Warnock is a finalist in The 2022 Adam Portraiture Award, a biennial competition and exhibition held at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery in Wellington. The Adam Portraiture Award is considered Aotearoa’s most prestigious painted portrait award. The first time she has been selected for the exhibition, Jessie’s painting is one of 45 works on public display from 26 May to 14 August.

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Music has been an ever present part of my life – it’s affected the people and aesthetics I’ve been exposed to and has been a way of connecting with others. It’s fair to say that it’s influenced what and how I make.

There’s plenty of music I love that won’t get played while I paint. I’m looking to get into a dissociative state. Having to change album is a massive buzz kill and I’m haunted by that stupid sound my UE Boom makes when it turns itself off.

As problematic as Spotify is, I heavily rely on autoplay from the first thing I pick to give me a few hours of agreeable background noise. I’m only partially listening.

Each of these artists lead in a direction I like going.

MF DOOM – A.T.H.F (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)

Minor Threat – Betray

Idles – Colossus

Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark) 

[Video contains mature content]

Night Lunch – Haunted Mill

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Follow Jessie on Instagram and check out our expanding playlist in our other editions of Tune! right here on our blog…

Tune! with Jacob Yikes

In preparation for his upcoming exhibition Even in Darkness (opening at Fiksate on April 1st, 2022), I was lucky enough to sit down with Jacob Yikes and chew the fat over not just the new work he was getting ready to present, but a range of topics. Music was inevitably on the table, and it has long been known how central music is to Yikes’ creative practice (from song titles used for shows and works, to his choice of accompanying soundtracks for exhibitions), serving as a constant companion to his work.

When I asked him to put together a playlist for Tune! he jumped at the chance and sent me a list of a dozen songs within a day. Then he sent me a new list the following day. It was clear how much of a role music plays in his process and life. The music is, much like his art, evocative and transcendental, smooth and yet dark. From Miles Davis to Mara TK and a choice cut of independent hip hop and jazzy down beats, this is a truly killer playlist that needs no lengthy introduction…

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Mara TK –Highly Medicated

Blockhead – Give Them Their Flowers

Khruangbin X Knxwledge – Dearest Alfred (My Joy)

Blu – amnesia

Skyzoo – Free Jewelry

Med, Blu, Madlib, feat. Anderson Paak – The Strip

Ivan Ave –Phone Won’t Charge

eLZhi, feat. Royce da 5’9 – Motown 25

Oh No- Elegant Smoke

@peace –Fine Night

The Doppelgängaz –Boston Beard

Miles Davis – Blue in Green

Even in Darkness, a selection of paintings by Jacob Yikes will run from April 1 to April 30 at Fiksate Gallery, 54 Hawdon Street, Sydenham

Tune! – with Dr Suits

Next up on Tune!, our ever-expanding playlist of the music that inspires our creative friends, is Dr Suits. If Dr Suits is painting in his studio space at Fiksate, chances are there is a classic Reggae, Ska, Dub or Rocksteady vinyl playing. With an impressive collection of vintage and re-released vinyl (trips to Ride On Super Sound are a common occurrence), the music is a strong influence on his creative process, setting the mood for for his work and manifesting in various ways. For Tune! Dr Suits takes us on a trip through these vital and influential genres…

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Music is a fairly important part of my creative process. I use music to help me get in a calm and consistent frame of mind. To do this, I like to play vinyl, predominantly Dub, Rocksteady, Ska and Reggae. The older the better. What I like about this music is its experimental and honest imperfections you can hear in the music. The artists are more about exploring a concept rather than trying to perfect a composition. Plus I generally love any old Jamaican music!

Playing vinyl means I’m engaged in the act of listening, its much more tactile. I like the physicality of flicking through the crate and experiencing the artwork, opening the cover, admiring the details on the insides and the sleeves. Each record will have 4-6 tracks on one side, this means every 20-30 mins of listening, in no time, I’m back there exploring the music again. So, although I like the tunes, I also love the vintage graphics, photography and bizarre outfits of early avant-garde experimentalists of Jamaica.

It’s hard to pick 5 albums, so I’m going to aim to cover the genres listed above…

Jackie Mittoo –  The Keyboard King

The Skatalites – African Roots

Lee Scratch Perry – Cloak and Dagger

Studio one – Rocksteady Got Soul

Trojan Records – Rudeboy Rumble

Tune! is an ever-growing playlist of music that inspires our artist friends!

Tune! with Mark Catley

The next contributor to Tune!, our evolving playlist to make art to, is Mark Catley. With his strongly pop culture inspired paste-ups (from Star Wars to Masters of The Universe and David Bowie) and his alter-ego as DJ Hairdresser on Fire, it is little surprise that music is such a central influence on Catley’s creative practice. But perhaps even more interesting is his late stage initiation into the magic of music, including a humorous story about the RPM speed of a vinyl. The variety of selections has been a striking feature of this series and Mark’s picks are further evidence of this trend, from The Smiths (Hairdresser on Fire is a Morrissey reference) to ABBA and Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, as well a few other surprises. So join us as we find out what tunes make Mark Catley tick…

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Music.
To a lot of people, music is just background noise.  Something to have on quietly while you go about your daily life. For others. Music really matters. I fall into the second category. Without music, I doubt I would be alive today.

Music has been there for every special moment in my life. Connecting all the mundane moments in life to the truly magical events or even just reminding me of the various heartbreaks. Like most artists I tend to work with music surrounding me. I also try and pick a song title to name a lot of my art, where suitable.

I didn’t listen to music growing up. If we had the radio on, it would have been the Christian station, Radio Rhema. Even then I really only listened to the Old Testament bible stories told by robots (I mean who else does an eight year-old kid get to read them stories from 2000 years ago?) So when the other kids at school would talk about music I would more often or not just pretend I knew who or what they were talking about. It got to the point where I once had to make up a poem for some class competition about a local radio station. The teacher obviously could see I had no idea what the subject was and so just glued the entry form, poem side down with the brightly, coloured picture facing outwards. I remember feeling really bummed out about that.

But hey, life got worse…

The Seeds Were Sown: Tears for Fears – Sowing the Seeds of Love

The first musical object I ever owned was a 7” vinyl single I won from the Christchurch Star in the 1980’s. It was the Tears for Fears single Sowing the Seeds of Love. I had no idea what the song or who the band was but I was so ecstatic to own my very own record that it didn’t matter!
It’s a big, bombastic, throw-everything-into-the-pot, 80’s single. It also features an amazing over-the-top music video which won many awards.
The funny thing was, as me and my sister never played music on Dad’s stereo, we had no idea there were different speeds for different size records.
Every day after school I would rush home to play the one item of music that was mine… at the wrong speed of 33rpm instead of 45rpm! It wasn’t until a friend flicked the switch on the turntable that I got to hear it at the correct speed. Funny thing is, to this day I still think the correct speed sounds too fast!

Living the Siamese Dream: The Smashing Pumpkins – Hummer

Once I discovered my own music at high school I was in deep.
I found out you could get CD’s from the local library and borrowed Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins. I would then copy the CD onto a tape and play it on repeat. This album just blew my newly forming teen mind. Those dreamy guitars, those crazy vocals! I was hooked.
The Pumpkins were also the first proper big gig I ever went to. It was May 1996 and I was still at high school, so I sent my dad along to wait in line and get the ticket. None of this fancy online buying tickets. I was always grateful my Dad was able to do that. I also once spent a lonely Christmas day in London pretty much by myself with a cheap bottle of wine and a borrowed copy of Siamese Dream. (Best Xmas ever? Maybe not… but still pretty good).

Litter on the Breeze: Suede – Trash

I’ve always felt more in tune with the English way of life and their style of music and moods. Give me a nice rainy day over a bright, scorching hot sun any time. Trash by Suede sums the band up perfectly and is so 90’s it hurts. But I love that pain. (when I first started making my street art and other work, I worked under the name Trash Design. I was told to change that to something else, so I just went with my boring real name. I’ve since been given another way cool handle to use, Bossk-Cat, but it seems too late to try and change now!)

I haven’t got a stitch to wear: The Smiths – This Charming Man

Sure, lead singer Morrissey has turned into an utter twat over the last seven or so years (I won’t say anymore on that subject), but The Smiths as a band have an almost flawless body of work. I did have fun pasting up various The Smiths singles posters around Christchurch years ago. There can’t be many other cities that can say that. This Charming Man is always guaranteed to get me up dancing.

I’m picking up good vibrations: The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations

Like most nerdy music lads, I got into the Beach Boys years ago. I could link in some deep cut, but really, if you listen to Good Vibrations and don’t feel happy, something must be seriously wrong with you. I had the joy of watching my daughter (Alba, who is two-and-a-half) dancing with sprigs of parsley in each hand to this song recently. I must have been at least 17 before I did that.

ABBA- S.O.S.

My late father did like some ABBA and I found a cheap copy of ABBA Gold on cassette tape. I would drive around in my blue VW Beetle playing it in my car tape deck for a laugh in the late 90’s. But I started to genuinely like the tunes. Hell, I even gave a 10-minute talk on how amazing
ABBA was at a Polytech presentation in the late 90s. They really are a perfect ‘pop’ band. It’s interesting to see the band is about to release a new album, their first in 40 years, and it’s not just some cash tie-in. I mean, this band turned down $1 billion dollars to reform in 2000! Anyway…it’s hard to choose a favourite from ABBA. So let’s just go with S.O.S.

Everyone you know someday will die: The Flaming Lips – Do You Realize??

Death…it’s going to get us all one day. It’s hard to remain in the now and just enjoy the people in our lives. This track by the Flaming Lips always brings a tear to my eye. Just another of those ‘perfect pop songs’ by a band just doing what they do. I also had the pleasure of dancing with the Lips up on stage back in London circa 2003. I was dressed as a parrot. I have a photo of me and the band taken by Beth Orton somewhere (I still can’t believe that I had the cheek to ask Beth Orton to take a photo of us all!).

Cause you are gonna: William Shatner – You’ll Have Time

William Shatner released an amazing album titled Has Been back in 2004.
It was produced and arranged by Ben Folds with most of the tracks written by Folds and Shatner. It’s an album that shouldn’t work, but it just does.
Shatner’s over the top delivery is just perfect and a lot of the songs are really heartbreaking. One song is about finding his wife drowned in the pool and another is about trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
They get me every time.
But today I want you to hear this track from Bill. People either love it or hate it. I suppose we don’t like being told we are going to die. I would also often clear people from the CD store I managed with this track… Ahh, the looks the locals in Merivale gave me. Priceless.

Bad dreams in the night: Kate Bush – Wuthering Heights

With the arrival of my daughter, Alba, I wanted to make sure I play more music made by strong females. I do tend to be male-centric with my listening. Not entirely sure why. I suppose it’s who I relate to with the lyrics and singing style. But Kate Bush is here, for all her uniqueness. She played the music game her way and got away with it.
Her first ever released single was Wuthering Heights which to this day is still her most famous track. She wrote the song after catching the ending of the 1967 BBC adaptation of the 1847 novel. She was only 18 at the time and recorded the vocals in one take. Only toured twice 1979 and 2014 and sporadically puts albums out when she feels they are ready.
I could easily select any of Kate’s work, but will just stick with her first offering.

It’s not always music…

More often than not, I work alone and sometimes you just get sick of tunes and music and need a break from everything. The following are my go-to for a ‘no music playlist’:

Casablanca – Full soundtrack with film bites

Max Richter – 8 Hours Sleep Score 

Steve Roach – Structures From Silence
This 29min ambient track is just sublime. It’s like a direct shot straight to the brain of pure “weightlessness”.  I often fall asleep to this track.

And finally some audio books:

The two Alan Partridge books read by Alan Partridge, I, Partridge and Nomad are hilarious.
The Sandman by Neil Gaiman is not only one of the greatest stories EVER, but now it has also been made into an audio book with a star-studded cast. Listen to it, before the Netflix show begins next year…

Follow Mark on Instagram and Facebook and keep an eye out for the next issue of Tune!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tune! with Bloom n Grow Gal

Bloom n Grow Gal’s affection for music was clear from our first conversation. The more we chatted and the more I have come to know about her work and process, the connection became even more apparent. When I suggested she write a list of her favourite songs for Tune! she was immediately excited. When I received her list, it was accompanied by an admission” “I’m not sure if I have done this correctly…” and explanation that she could have added a heap more musical influences. But as I started to read, it was, in her inimitable style, clear that she had got it spot on – connecting songs to her memories and lived experience (I was transported to my own recollections as I listened to The Strokes and Temper Trap) and illustrating that many of us are captivated by the connection between art and music from a young age and that it endures as we grow…
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Music plays a huge part in my life, it always has. It sets a mood and helps create the environment. As far back as I can remember birthday and Christmas wishlists would consist of tapes, CDs and records and of course cassette players then portable CD players then iPods. Mum and Dad both have impressive record collections and I always remember spending hours and hours flicking through them and putting out my favourite artworks and lining them up. Looking back now, I think my first realisation of the relationship between art and music was in these records. The Beatles, ABBA, The Clash, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, they all had incredibly cool record sleeves and music. I collected so many CDs, every paycheck I would be down to the local music shop buying all my favourites! I was always so envious of friends that had Sky TV, just have the music channels on whenever they wanted. This is bringing back so many moments! Where do I even start…or stop!
For me, music and my art represent moments in my life, the journeys I was on, or the beginning of something. This was incredibly hard to get down on paper because I get so much feeling and energy from music I don’t even know where to start! The DJ Anne Mac who I listened to on BBC Radio one throughout my teens and adult life recently had her final show and something she said in it just got me thinking about how I feel when a song comes on that I just connect with: “If you like the music you gotta get up and dance, just do it…” If it’s not dancing, it’s drawing, or wheat-pasting, or sewing… Create, Dance, Move!
Song: Mr. Scruff – Get A Move On
I think I was about 16-17 years old, me and a friend had gotten Mr. Scruff tickets. I’d loved the artwork behind Mr. Scruff as it had always connected with me. I was doing my art A levels and hating every moment, everything had to look like Van Gogh. I just wanted to be doing my own thing, I didn’t want to be sat trying to paint sunflowers exactly like Van Gogh. The Mr. Scruff concert was so awesome, I still remember it to this day. I think it was my first time getting properly high on weed. Mr. Scruff has these visuals that played on the screens and I remember just being so amazing at the connection with the music and the animations and how fun they were. just over ten years later, I got to do something similar at P.B. n Jam – The Show. I got to have my illustrations on a screen alongside music!

Song: The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition
I remember listening to this song on my iPod mini on a bus, going from Barcelona Airport to the centre of Barcelona. I remember the colours of the sunset sky, how tired I was, but how beautiful and exciting it was. It was around the time I really started getting into point and click film cameras. Growing up mum and dad had documented our whole childhood on film. I just loved flicking through the albums, looking at the colours, the graininess, and the imperfections and blurs created by the risk of having one chance and one moment. I loved the spontaneous nature of the picture, the single chance you had to get it right. But then, even if it wasn’t quite right, there was always something nice about the picture. Although I wouldn’t say I am a photographer, I love taking photos on films. I love the unknown surprises that come with it. It’s like a metaphor for life, you don’t know how it’s going to turn out but you’ve got to try to find out (that might have sounded better in my head!).

Song: The Strokes – Someday
The Strokes have honestly been with me through so much; so many late nights at university getting the final bit of my projects finished. Their music carries me through the night and early hours of the morning and motivates me to get things finished. In between drawing I can always get up and have a boogie too. Their music just makes me want to use all the colours on every corner of every page. So yeah, The Strokes are my go-to for an artist deadline!

Song: Radiohead – Reckoner
Reckoner brings back some mixed feelings. It was a song and a band that got played a lot in my university years. Throughout university, I always doubted myself, and I was extremely hard on myself. I thought everything I was creating and had no purpose. I look back now and see how everything I was doing was just me developing as a person, you need to make mistakes or you never learn. Radiohead reminds me of just that.

Song: Elliot Smith – Needle In The Hay
I first heard Elliot Smith featured in the Wes Anderson film The Royal Tenenbaums. This song always reminds me of Wes Anderson films. I love their colour palettes, the film sets and the clothes.

Song: The Beatles – Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
I feel like it wouldn’t really be my art and music list without having a Beatles song in there. It was honestly hard to pick just one song because two albums covers I would always pull out from my parent’s collection were Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Yellow Submarine. I loved all the people on the cover of the Sgt Pepper’s album, and the flowers at the front. I still think to this day it’s one of my favourites. I loved the collage effect. Collage is something I always love the look of, but don’t think I quite have it. But then, if I think about my paste-ups, that in itself is a kind-of collage, so maybe I am being a little hard on myself again! I loved the movie Yellow Submarine too and my favourite part was when Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds played. I always use to sing it as “Lydia in the sky with diamonds”… I just love the colours!!!

Song: Jorge Ben Jor – Take It Easy My Brother Charles

Honestly, it was so hard to get down six songs! I am constantly changing up my music and returning to old favourites at the same time. A song that is getting me through this lockdown is Jorge Ben Jor’s Take It Easy My Brother Charles. It is full of joy and colour, it gets me out of bed in the morning ready to draw some flowers. Actually I think I am going back to drawing more flowers now!

Follow Bloom n Grow Gal on Instagram and Hello I Am on Facebook to keep up with all of BGG’s activities, from art to exhibitions…

Check out our other issues of Tune! for the ever-growing playlist our artist friends are creating!