Upcycling Project: Surrealism Painting

For my upcycling project I am planning on painting on old records that no longer play music. The idea is that the records will be used as canvases since they no longer serve the purpose they were originally meant to. This will allow me to reuse them so that they don’t end up in a landfill. This is quite important to me as I am an environmental engineer. My plan is to hopefully paint two to three cohesive paintings that I can hang on my wall together. This is a common art style that people have done before me. Images 1 and 2 below show examples of this.

An aesthetic that I have always found interest in is surrealism. I have been painting for years and I find that surrealism is my style because it allows for me to showcase my realism talent while adding my own creative twist. You can read a bit more about surrealism on my Aesthetics Exploration post: https://www.aesdes.org/2024/01/24/aesthetic-exploration-surrealism/

The art style within surrealism that I am planning to take inspiration from for one record is pieces depicting a lady’s head turning into flowers or space. This is a very popular style within the realm of surrealism. I think that this type of art can be very versatile and beautiful. That is what makes it perfect for home decor in my own opinion. This style is shown in Images 3 and 4.

Instead of using flowers or space, I am planning on using elements of music. That way the art ties back in with the canvas. I want to include things like music notes and a staff coming out of the top of a woman’s head. I plan to paint the woman in black and gray realism style and then add color in the musical part of the piece. Combining the realism of the woman with the creativity of the musical aspect will define this piece as surrealism.

For the other one or two records I plan to focus more on the musical aspect while still tying them into the main record that is talked about above. I am thinking of continuing the staff and music notes onto the remaining record(s) to really tie all the pieces together. I am also thinking about adding on more aspects that are related to the actual record, like a record player or a record itself. I want to include these aspects in a very whimsical way so that all the pieces compliment each other well. I have been looking into surrealism record player art and have found some inspiration in Images 5 and 6 below.

The paintings on the records will classify as surrealism which fits right into the aesthetic that I am trying to achieve for this project. The art will be loosely inspired by some of the images that I posted in this blog, but I plan to make the paintings unique to my style. My hope is that the finished project is something I am proud to hang in my house and can be added to my other art decor that I have hung up on my walls.

Citations:

Images:

[1] Tony Rubino. Rubino, T. (March 7th, 2019). Record Album Vinyl LP Asian Japanese Lake Water. Fine Art America. https://fineartamerica.com/featured/record-album-vinyl-lp-asian-japanese-lake-water-tony-rubino.html

[2] Rachel Olynuk. Olynuk, R. (April 8th, 2019). A Rainy day kinda love. Fine Art America. https://fineartamerica.com/featured/a-rainy-day-kinda-love-rachel-olynuk.html

[3] Irena Orlov. Orlov, I. Floral Head. Irenaorlov. https://www.irenaorlov.store/listing/943384419/woman-floral-portrait-flower-head-woman

[4] Anne Amanda. Amanda, A. Space Head. Society6. https://society6.com/product/space-head913893_print

[5] Roman Samborskyi. Samborskyi, R. Creative trend collage of arms holding vinyl retro vintage record music 70s 80s meloman lover. Dreamstime. https://www.dreamstime.com/creative-trend-collage-arms-holding-vinyl-retro-vintage-record-music-s-s-meloman-lover-surrealism-template-creative-trend-image268115577

[6] Jay Fleck. Fleck, J. Soundwaves. iCanvas. https://www.icanvas.com/canvas-print/soundwaves-jfl59#1PC6-26×26