"Dream of More." 24" x 24" mixed media on cradled artist panel.
When the multi-talented Andrei Shulgach asked me to create the cover art for his beautiful and inspirational song, "Dream of More," I was (and still am!) humbled, honored, and excited. Andrei wants to write music for Disney so he decided to go ahead and make his own magical Disney song, based on his personal odyssey—thus, the birth of this epic song, "Dream of More."
"Part of anyone's journey growing up is about finding who they are, how they want to spend the rest of their lives, how they identify their selves to fit in the world. I hope that this song will inspire others to, even through any doubts, push forward to realize their dreams and become the person they are meant to be." ~Andrei Shulgach
The emotions, hopes, and dreams upon which "Dream of More" is constructed will resonate with anyone dreaming for something more in their life. For me, this song taps into the deep angst I've felt most of my life—that I was born to be an artist but I wasn't supported in that path by any adult of significance in my life—until I met Andrew Murphy, who opened the doors for me to finally meet the artist that I am. For all of these powerful emotional connections, I knew that my work here needed to liberate similar emotional responses by the viewers, just as the song does in those who hear it. My art needed to echo the soaring power of "Dream of More."
I was nervous and wondered if I could create what Andrei envisioned—a somewhat abstract, beautifully colored, dreamlike, and magical sky. Listening to this song during my painting process reminded me of all the freedom and joy I felt once I made my decision to embrace my inner artist. Now... I knew I had within me what was needed to visualize that remarkable moment when you choose to pursue your dreams and dream of more! I'll talk more about all that went into this painting (what I was thinking and feeling, why I developed certain textures, what happened during the process...) but that'll come later in a video shared about the collaboration for this project.
It was an emotional moment for me when I released the final painting to Andrei. His reply is a gift: "Wow. I love it...It's PERFECT. Very beautiful! I'm so thankful that you took on this project."
"...the beautiful artwork that you see for the cover was not a stock photo but an original painting commissioned for the song by the incredibly talented and kind Didi Wrenee Murphy who I was lucky enough to meet through my dear friend Lynn. Didi jumped at the chance to bring the song to life visually...This is the first time I've ever had original artwork for a song, and it is definitely going up on my wall." ~Andrei Shulgach
I'm deeply grateful for the amazing opportunity given to my by Andrei to be a part of this wonderful project. I met him through two of my dearest friends, Lynn and Bri. He is kind and introspective, and possesses an exceptionally creative talent. I also admire his passionate drive to continually create. I enjoyed working with him very much.
In the future, there'll be some video shared regarding the collaborative process for Andrei's song as well. For now, at the links below, Andrei talks more about "...collaborating with Sydney Phipps to feature the perfect Disney/Broadway voice and Oksanna Shulgach to have the most fitting lyrics (he) could ever dream of...(and) Stephen Antonelli from SongBuilder Studios, handling the mixing and mastering to really make it pop."
I hope you find "Dream of More" as inspirational as I do!
"Dream of More"
24" x 24" Mixed media on deep cradled artist panel.
