My Passion with Painting & Drumming

As a drummer, you are the heartbeat of the groove, song, or composition. When I sit down behind my kit, I experience the same emotions of excitement, confidence, and experimentation as I do when facing a blank canvas. I want to share my experience of drumming through my paintings while celebrating an instrument that has been integral to my journey as an artist.

Rhythm and balance emerged as the foundational principles for this series because my identity as a drummer is imprinted in my creative process. As this series unfolded, new correlations between color and sounds emerged. The bass drum is a deep, throaty cobalt blue. The snare drum feels like a vibrant, viridian green. The tom-toms are anchored in harmonious earth tones that gradually transition to cooler shades. The cymbals embody a lively, warm palette that compliments the cooler tones. Warm and inviting, silky reds, cadmium, and vibrant, electric yellows emerge on a vast palette in my mind. 

Color, line, shape, movement, unity, and rhythm are my visual rudiments now. The movements of a brush or stick resonating from a stretched surface are familiar and comfortable to me. Striking a drum and the act of mark-making are similar movements. The drumstick is an extension of my hand, as is the paintbrush, and I seek to tell the story of countless strokes, fills, and solos that make up my experience as a drummer – through my creative expression as a painter.

Photography adds another element to this process, as it captures a moment in time– a stroke, a note, and a slice of the rapid movements of drumming. Capturing those details allows me the time and space to interpret– on canvas– what I experience while drumming, and allows me to invite the viewer to experience those physical and emotional energies along with me.  - Joe Parson

“Life is about rhythm. We vibrate, our hearts are pumping blood, we are a rhythm machine, that’s what we are.”  - Mickey Hart