Why would a singer talk about painting, unless she is also a painter. Painting and singing jazz have one big thing in common. They are both creative efforts. Another thing they have in common is that skill is involved. Yet, without passion, skill is enjoyable but lacks a certain essence that only the heart can bring.
Several years ago I saw the Picasso exhibit at Seattle Art Museum. The one painting used to advertise the showing was marvelous. It was rich, abstract, striking, energetic and colorful. It was unique among the paintings being shown for reasons I couldn't quite identify until I left the gallery. Then it came to me, I could literally feel Picasso thinking as he designed and painted the abstracts in the gallery. He was well known, as you may know, for his cubistic approach to form, especially the human figure. However, the painting of the woman used in advertising the show, although abstracted, still had a separate energy that caught my attention. Picasso had had many mistresses, probably all of whom he had painted. This mistress, however, was said to be one who had her own mind and Picasso couldn't control her. So rather than feel his thinking as he abstracted her form, I imagine what I felt was his emotions about her. Those emotions made the painting far more compelling to me than the more thoughtful ones. That is a long way around making the point that skill is important but to be most impactful, a creative endeavor also needs passion!