Tell us about yourself. Who are you and what do you do?
I am a musician and a painter. I enjoy the conversation between them and have always been inspired by Joni Mitchell going back and forth between music and visual art. I sing and play bass with my band, The O-Tones (www.theotones.com) and love the collaboration on our Swing and Soul music with other singers and instrumentalists. I always listen to music when I paint in my studio. I'm very visual so when I'm singing a song I think about the story of the words and when I paint, I feel music on the canvas since I paint intuitively and abstractly.
Why did you decide to become an artist?
I love music and art and was raised by German parents who exposed me to both, always nurturing my education with those focuses. Although raised on classical music, my sister and I listened to many genres including Soul, Jazz, Folk, and Rock & Roll. After a few years of piano and 20 years of french horn, I started playing bass when I was 30 to have an instrument I could sing and play all styles with other people. I was exposed to a lot of abstract art through my family and still love seeing, creating and teaching it at NCFA.
Tell us about some projects you have worked on. Which one was your favorite and why?
Sing for Peace, a recent online video collaboration because I was able to write a song about working for social justice and collaborate with others, making it a multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-generational project. Participants were musicians I work with, an 83-year old dancer, and neighborhood kids singing and dancing on it.
An online concert with Annie Patterson to raise money for the Movement Voter Project and send more positive music out to the world. Some people watching from home probably sang along during COVID time and that is good for the soul! (https://youtu.be/rHFzDE_AqiA )
I love teaching painting at NCFA!
What other art or artists have been inspirational to you in your work?
I was raised on German Abstract Expressionism so have seen a lot of intriguing abstract paintings, but when I started painting I did a lot of experimenting with tools and thick paint. I have ended up using a wide palette knife most of the time using wet and dry layers to create depth and texture. I really like Kandinsky, Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Miro, Hilma af Klint, Paul Klee, and Joan Snyder, among others.
In music, I have been inspired by Ella Fitzgerald, Bonnie Raitt, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Lyle Lovett, The Temptations and many more.
Where can we find your work?
Paintings:
https://www.mewitt.wixsite.com/marywittpainter
https://www.instagram.com/marywittpainter/
https://www.facebook.com/marywittpainter
Music, my band, The O-Tones:
https://www.youtube.com/user/OTonesBand/videos
https://www.facebook.com/The-O-Tones-457251670789/?ref
https://www.instagram.com/theotones/
Sing for Peace on YouTube:
Anything else you'd like to mention that we didn't ask?
I am grateful for how supportive Northampton is to artists and that continues to evolve with the various organizations, as well as adjusting to COVID times!