Before I became a "real" musician, I painted. Oils. I 'd become too excited about the application, eschewed the distance of a brush, preferring the immediacy of putting paint to canvas with my fingers. Sometimes, I worried chemicals from the paint and turps might soak too deeply into my fingers, but when I imagined the hues seeping into my skin like tattoos, the worry went away: I had all the colors inside my fingertips. I think of that sort of image sometimes when I'm practicing -- I hope my color-drenched fingers make vibrantly shaded songs.