A vital component in my artists process is my synesthesia abilities. I take what I hear while studying orchestral scores and make artwork communicating my experience.
Synesthesia is a neurological condition where stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. While there is no definitive list of artists with synesthesia, there are several notable artists throughout history who have reported experiencing synesthesia, including:
Wassily Kandinsky - a Russian painter and art theorist who claimed to hear colors and see sounds.
Vincent van Gogh - a Dutch post-impressionist painter who is said to have experienced synesthesia, associating colors with emotions and feelings.
Franz Liszt - a Hungarian composer and pianist who reportedly experienced synesthesia, with certain keys and chords being associated with specific colors and shapes.
Duke Ellington - an American jazz composer and pianist who claimed to see colors when he heard music.
Billy Joel - an American singer-songwriter who has said that he sees colors when he hears music.
Pharrell Williams - an American musician and producer who has said that he experiences synesthesia and sees colors when he hears music.
Halsey - an American singer-songwriter who has spoken openly about her experience of synesthesia, associating colors with different sounds and emotions.
Charli XCX - an English singer-songwriter who has also spoken about her experience of synesthesia, associating colors with certain musical notes and keys.
It is worth noting that not all artists with synesthesia choose to talk about their experience publicly, so the actual number of artists who have synesthesia may be much higher than what is known.