I'm a composer and contemporary jazz guitarist, and I paint almost every day. I've worked on numerous Grammy-nominated and winning projects, from CDs to movie soundtracks. I choose a career in music engineering and production, but my passion for art is equally intense.

Music and art are connected for me. You can't see music and you can't hear a painting, but both have a way of communicating similar senses. Art has properties normally assigned to music—a painting can be harmonious, or dissonant, loud or quiet, rhythmic or unsteady. Music can spark vivid images or visual memories. Every...

I'm a composer and contemporary jazz guitarist, and I paint almost every day. I've worked on numerous Grammy-nominated and winning projects, from CDs to movie soundtracks. I choose a career in music engineering and production, but my passion for art is equally intense.

Music and art are connected for me. You can't see music and you can't hear a painting, but both have a way of communicating similar senses. Art has properties normally assigned to music—a painting can be harmonious, or dissonant, loud or quiet, rhythmic or unsteady. Music can spark vivid images or visual memories. Everyone has listened to music and imagined a place where the music has taken them.

In both cases, my goal as an artist is to evoke emotion, to elicit a response from the viewer, from "I hate this" to "I love this." In art, as in music, a neutral reaction is failure. I want people to think about my work, to look deeper. It’s not simply decorative; each of my paintings tells a story, has meaning and, I hope, creates an emotional reaction. Of course, sometimes it’s just a painting of two cats drinking out of a toilet.

I imagine things to paint as opposed to finding subjects on location, and use acrylic paint on panel, canvas, and sometimes paper. You can see my artwork and hear my music on my website, randyeverett.net.