Notes of Inspiration With
Valery Konovalova and Jasmin Pannu

A towering blank canvas is a staggering challenge artists can face. Valery Konovalova, whose travel experiences influence her riveting watercolour art, has established herself in the art world with her growing following and latest artistic techniques. Award-winning artist Jasmin Pannu has showcased her art for brands like Nike, Coca-Cola and Lancôme. Throughout her success, Pannu continues to evolve through various artistic forms. These two artists, each in their respective fields, are united by their mutual use of music to uncover their artistic styles.

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As Konovalova moved closer to her screen, the sun was nowhere in sight. She sat on a patio chair in Phuket, Thailand, trees and hedges all around her as a steady thrum of bikes and cars could be heard in the distance. Konovalova had been for in Thailand six months. Travelling the world was a garden of inspiration that has blossomed in her work. Her growing Instagram account of 200,000 followers is a testament to her engaging posts, displaying themes of travelled landscapes, popular films and storytelling since the pandemic.

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When asked about the inspirations behind her work, Konovalova linked many of her works to music. During her childhood, “every- one worked in silence or listening to classical music... It was the standard” she said. “Sometimes silence can cause you to think a lot and bring you to overthink.” As a result, oil painting became the preferred medium in classic art, compared to other styles of painting.

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“They saw my mediums of watercolour as childish. When I would call it mystical nativity.”

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Konovalova diverges from the mainstream music taste in her culture to create art with a unique perspective and style, stating, “I’m not a fan of classical music during my work, I’m a big fan of electronic music and ethno music, where electronic combines with ethnic music.

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”I need something stable that brings me into a trance, by listening to a whole set or album, you just paint and forget about the time.”

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Sad motives are a pivotal desire in her music choice, Konovalova expressed, “I don't like happy music at all, maybe because the bright colours in my work allow me to hide the negative.” Konovalova’s exposure to these genres ties back to her travel experiences at techno parties and raves in Moscow, specifically the club Mutabor.

 

Inspired by the club scene, her painting Kissing Couple captures the essence of nightlife. Her first commission was an album cover for Atlantis Chronicles, a concept designed by Konovalova. The metal band’s music allowed her to conceptualize the siren, Nera, and a ruined city.

In a candid moment, Konovalova speaks to the stillness that exists in her head.

 

“I don’t hear the melody. It’s interesting but strange because the music I listen to I can’t repeat... I do not have any songs playing in my head,” she said. “In childhood, my mother took me to a music school for theatre, and they said ‘Oh no, it's impossible, you should go to art school.’”

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Konovalova continued to do commissioned art and sell artwork overseas. Yet, sanctions created hardship for her business. “All my art business I was building for many years was ruined by sanctions, all my customers, all my buyers, all my passive income was from foreign countries. I did not have anyone to work with in my home country. I fell into depression and it was a hard time for me. I started with oils a year and a half ago before using watercolour paints. I wasn’t good when I started with watercolour, compared to my Instagram today. At the end of the summer, I found a job and started my Instagram blog and found a high level of connectedness.”

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Her perseverance prevailed, and when her company no longer sold art she pivoted to Instagram to promote her art. Later, this prompted her to leave her home country, to better her artistic pursuits. Konovalova encourages travel, as it was a motivator of her artistic journey to now. “I get all my ideas and inspirations from on the road. When I listen to music in the subway, walking or in the car. I see everyday life for people and see some ideas that I want to use and I put them in my notes. I go home and make sketches,” she said.

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Konovalova hopes the future of design and music will be one of intersection and depth.

 

“Music and art go together, always.”

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For Jasmin Pannu, Music is also an integral part of her success as an artist. Pannu owns a full-service art studio, expressed as “a catch-all for all things related to visual art. What takes up most of my time is mural art which is most fun. Working with the intersection of people, place and purpose for public-facing artworks”. While doing this she is also an active creative and teacher in school programs and a voice at artist talks. Keeping her very busy!

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“Music is pivotal, especially when you have a daunting blank wall in front of you.”

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Pannu describes the initial problems that occur during the first stages of mural projects over the phone. Currently, in the early stages of working on a United Parcel Service (UPS) project, she highlights a past project of two murals, both 20 by 30 ft. tall, needing to be completed in a two-week window for Coca-Cola.

 

“My playlist needs to be on point. It needs to be motivating. I need several to switch through genres. That makes my process and my anxiety for the first few days easier and go by faster. Shifting my mood to ‘I got this’ with the right playlist of course,” she said.

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Pannu takes time to create or find a playlist that is motivating and has versatility in genres and language at the beginning of her projects, helping with problem-solving and optimism of project completion.

“I use music as a tool to shift my feelings, a lot of times I’m afraid.”

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Some of Pannu's favourite artists involve language versatility like Punjabi and Hindi music. Carly Pearl, Balwinder, and Neeti Mohan are among her current favourite artists, alongside Logic, Masego, Dave, and Stefflon Don. The FootLocker project exemplifies her use of musical influence and creativity. A culmination of two exterior murals with an additional fourteen digital murals, printed and sold inside. Music is a tool Pannu is not afraid to use to connect and collaborate.

 

“I kept going back to music and I was also working with an assistant Victoria, and our commonality was a love for music. When you’re working with someone else you are able to bounce music off of one another. It's such a way of getting to know another person,” she said.

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Music genres change within Jasmin's work, by beginning the project cycling through soothing timeless classics of jazz, and then the tempo picks up during colour blocking. She explained, “In an area like that you’ll probably listen to hip-hop or something that really gives you that energy, and hypes you up and gets you involved in the lyrics.”

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Pannu reminisces about a karaoke riff-off while painting with spray paints on a scissor lift 30 ft. above ground, reflecting on the impact of music and memories. Pannu also mentions the selective taste of music some projects require. Her work on projects such as Lancôme involved incorporating music by women in R&B, love songs, and Hindi songs. “Things that get me feeling embodied, like looking at a bed of flowers. The type of music that inspires you to look up at the stars.”

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Comparably, Pannu says street art projects require “a coffee shop playlist, very PG feel good type of music that allows you to be cognizant of everything around you.” For private projects, rap and rock and roll would better influence her art. Despite her connection to music, Pannu says some phases of a project do require moments of contemplation and silence. “If I’m working on a large mural and I need to keep taking steps back just because of the scale of it, in those moments of contemplation, I will turn off my music because I need a moment to really see what I’m looking at.”

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Pannu's mediums range, but her current mural, at UPS, used traditional paints, brushes and a massive tarp. Staring at the mural, she talks about her other artistic mediums, like the digital design of a silk scarf for Lancôme on her iPad. “The range of what I’m creating is so different. Pattern work on shoes, a hand-painted basketball and sculptural work with flowers. It’s one of my favourite things about my career is that I can play within so many different domains.”

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Song radio, a music tool on Spotify, impacts her work with different song options to help her tackle her many artistic pursuits. “If there is a song I’m into, I discover so many other artists. Especially when you’re looking for flow you are in the headspace to actually give the music the time that it needs. I find myself finding a lot of new music while creating and that within itself is an exhilarating process,” she said.

 

Pannu continues to expand her range of design and forms. She looks forward to the emerging possibilities in the technology frontier. “I hope to continue to build out that emerging art and music as I continue to teach, especially with youth,” she said.

“I would love to see a day when everybody uses art as a tool. Like you’re feeling frustrated, well grab some markers and colour it out, and have a playlist to complement it.”