what is your name?
Kilford, The Music Painter
how would you describe what you do?
I paint music. I see colours when I hear music so I paint those colours live alongside bands during their gigs, or people ask me to paint single songs for them, or I sketch single songs. Other than that I do a lot of shoe shopping, googling and drinking a lot of cardamom tea, I smoke a lot, think even more, I get my arse kicked in the gym and eat a lot of peanut butter (it’s a power food apparently)
what are you currently working on?
Painting wise I’m painting a few commissioned pieces inspired by single songs including Halo, Empire State of Mind, Heroes and Bad Romance. I’m also sorting out my first ‘One Love’ music painting night at The Social in Feb www.thesocial.com I’m proper excited about that, I painted with The Charlatans, Magic Numbers and Saint Etienne at the club for the 10th Anniversay last month…it was rockin. Plus I’m designing the pilot of our Music Painter Documentary which is fun. What else, oh yeah launching an online store which focuses on selling top quality art for stupidly low prices all in the name of “Art for Everyone” so anyone can be a collector of great art for the price of two packs of cigarette and a vodka redbull!
what has had the greatest influence on your work?
Music is my number 1 influence. But if you mean influence in terms of what I create etc, then its people, either via commissions or Facebook people, I sketch lots of stuff based on facebook fan requests, so they influence what I create and I dig it, they are fab.
What is the greatest misconception about you or your work?
I don’t think there are any misconceptions, it does what it says on the tin. The Music Painter, Paints Pictures of Music…it’s not the Cat Painter or the Landscape Painter or the Paints Anything Painter. The Music Painter, nice and simple.
what do you see as the main strengths and weaknesses of the medium you work in?
I use acrylic. Main strength is the dry time, it has to dry quickly after a gig, basically in the time it takes to pull the set down. Weakness, is that it doesn’t completely accommodate my colour spectrum, I feel restricted with blues specifically. I used to use a metallic blue and the manufacturers stopped making it. I suggested they call it Music Painter Blue and re-launch it but it hasn’t happened yet.
how has technology impacted upon the work you do?
it hasn’t impacted on my work, it is at the centre and is critical to all of my work. Any artist that isn’t interested in using modern technology can stay in the last millennium as far as I am concerned. The challenge I have, is that we are working on technology that doesn’t exist yet, so trying to get companies to make it is 1) a nightmare 2) bloody expensive.
what’s the greatest piece of advice you would like to pass on?
two things 1) Fuck em, paint what you want to paint and don’t let anyone tell you differently 2) be what you want to become
where can we find you online?
I’m on my facebook site far too much for my own good www.facebook.com/themusicpainter i twitter too much at www.twitter.com/themusicpainter plus if you want to look through my work, there are over 700 pieces online and all of them are free to download in high resolution from www.themusicpainter.com
what are you reading at the moment?
Twitters, no books at the moment…I like reading real lives in real time.
what are you listening to at the moment?
right now, I’m in the studio so I am focused on these Halo, Empire State of Mind, Heroes and Bad Romance. I have to engulf myself in the song, I have to know every part of it just as you know every part of your lovers body.
anything else we should know?
…I use ear buds twice a day and I shouldn’t, I bite my nails, I like Guinness, I’m addicted to Swarovski and anything that sparkles, I have dents on my thumbs because I use my blackberry too much, I love brown sauce on most things and I don’t like to sleep.