Each week I will feature one song and accompanying painting from my project, Peace or Drama, A Journey Through Music And Art.

In the spotlight this week is Van Gogh Heard.

I’m excited to talk about Van Gogh this week because I have a show coming up on Saturday and the artist who interpreted this song will be there: Wendy Bull Oakley.

Van Gogh Heard is about listening to that inner pulse that allows your brilliance to shine. I’m thankful that these artists listened to my songs and came up with images that are so unique and powerful.

“Van Gogh heard dying sunflowers in yellow mustard hues
Van Gogh heard storms of swirls and curls and echoes in the sky
Van Gogh heard empty cafe tables beneath a starry night
Won’t you tell me, do you hear what Van Gogh heard?
Do you hear what Van Gogh heard?”

(chorus from Van Gogh Heard)

Song by Eve Fleishman/Joseph S. Smith. Image by Wendy Bull Oakley. Read more about Van Gogh Heard in the exhibition book. You can also bid on the painting, with proceeds to benefit PeaceTones.

Here’s a video from one of my recent shows:

Van Gogh Heard at Simon Ripley’s Music and Art

Each week I will feature one song and accompanying painting from my project, Peace or Drama, A Journey Through Music And Art.

In the spotlight this week is Pretty Moon.

This song really is about a journey. It’s about finding peace with yourself no matter where you are in life. The moon is my anchor, giving me hope even when I feel lost.

“Pretty Moon, shine your light on me
Take the gloom edge off my window
For allegedly, you’re my friend
And I believe in you
Til the end of the Earth
Won’t you shine down your mirth
Into this dark and lonely place….”

(verse from Pretty Moon)

Music and lyrics by Eve Fleishman.  Image by Daniel Dennis, Nashville TN.  Read more about Pretty Moon in the exhibition book.  You can also bid on the painting, with proceeds to benefit PeaceTones.

Here’s a video from one of my recent shows:

Eve sings Pretty Moon

“I’m not famous. I’m not Bruce Springsteen. So why should you care about this small collection of songs and images?”

So starts my new book, Peace or Drama, A Journey Through Music and Art.  And why should you care? What do I want you to know about me? about these artists?

This project began about a year ago. I started looking for visual artists after I released my first solo album, Peace or Drama. Each song soon became painting, interpreted by 13 different artists from 7 states. You can read more about the beginnings of this journey here.

I recently started my tour – I now have three shows under my belt. And so far it has been everything I hoped for. This is what I tell the audience: “I’m doing this to promote these local artists, build community through music and art, and then collectively we can help artists around the globe to do the same.”  I’m selling the book along with postcards of the images to benefit PeaceTones, a charity that helps artists in developing nations. People are also able to bid on the art (at concerts and online) until the end of the tour, when it will be auctioned off for PeaceTones.

I’m so excited to bring meaning to my work in this way!  My first show attracted 100 people in a small town with a strong community.  They listened to the stories, they sang along, they took in the music and the art.  The local winery donated wine, the women’s guild made desserts from their cookbook, and the coffee shop brought coffees and teas.  They bought the books, CDs and postcards; they bid on the art.  Later in the week, one of the artists in my project, Libby Smart, came to town to lead an all-day artist workshop (I attended and painted my very first painting). The next day I led a songwriting  workshop.

This is just the kind of active involvement I’m looking for.  I’m sharing my life’s journey along the way because I think we all have stories that connect us to the rest of humanity.  My story is rather ordinary. My songs follow the usual ponderings: love, loss, hope. The art, however, is extraordinary, and I’m thrilled to be able to present these paintings and these artists in the context of music and storytelling.

I’m doing this because I am passionate about art in all its many forms.  Art has the power to move us in ways that we cannot always define. I hope you will be moved by this project and find a way to support it (spread the word, bring the show to your town, buy the book, buy the art).  Contact me and we’ll make something happen!

Concert dates in 2010:

9/25/10 Storytelling Arts Center, Laurinburg NC

10/2/10 Halle Cultural Arts Center, Apex NC

10/21/10 Simon Ripley’s Music and Art, Nashville TN

11/10/10 Nashville Unleashed at The Center for the Arts, Murfreesboro TN

12/19/10 Bellamy Road Gallery, Melrose FL

See videos here: Peace or Drama, The Journey Begins and Simon Ripley show

Now Booking for 2011!  Visit www.Eve Fleishman.com

In the spring of 2004, I was a student at Berklee College of Music in Boston, working on a class assignment in my friend Joe’s basement apartment. The two of us were tasked with co-writing a song. Joe had Van Gogh posters in his room, which brought to mind an exhibit I had seen at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; these visual cues eventually became the inspiration behind our song, “Van Gogh Heard.” It is one of my favorites, combining my loves of music, history and art.

Fast-forward five years to Nashville, where I now live as a singer-songwriter. I keep thinking about the initial spark that leads to creativity. If art could inspire a song, then why not the other way around? I have seen examples of this before: kids asked to draw what comes to mind while listening to classical music; music appreciation classes where the listeners close their eyes and observe the images evoked by a song. Last year I read an article about a music duo that wrote a collection of tunes and then asked authors and visual artists to create works inspired by the songs. This concept resonated with me immediately and I knew I wanted to do something similar with my own music.

This past year I released an album of original songs called Peace or Drama. I found 13 visual artists (one for each song on the album) to create a piece of art based on the music. The artists listened to the album and gave their top three song choices. Once songs were assigned, the artists were free to interpret the piece in any way they wanted.

I will be touring with the art for over a year (starting in September 2010), performing concerts in art galleries and similar venues. I will also have for sale an exhibition book to accompany the CD, featuring lyrics, images and artist commentaries. At the end of the tour (late 2011) an auction for the art will be held to benefit PeaceTones (www.peacetones.org), a charity that helps artists in war-torn and underdeveloped nations to digitize and sell their art or music.

This project is called Peace or Drama: A Journey through Music and Art. As music and art are reflections of experiences, these 13 visual artists are from the 7 states I have lived in: CA, FL, MA, NC, PA, TN, and TX.

View all the paintings at www.EveFleishman.com