Paintings of Me
Paintings of Me is the debut studio album by American singer and media personality Gabi DeMartino. It was independently released on May 6, 2022.
Background and development
In December 2019, Niki and Gabi announced a hiatus to focus on their solo projects. Later, DeMartino revealed that she had signed with Roc Nation for music management and that she was working on her debut studio album. On September 1, 2020, DeMartino released her single "Champagne Dreams", which was originally intended to be the lead single of the album. The song was later scrapped from the album due to DeMartino’s decision to re-work on the album.Paintings of Me was originally titled Beautiful Mess, and was initially created as a Niki and Gabi album, but Niki ultimately decided not to participate, as the album did not align with her style. One of the intended lead singles by the duo, "Hair Tie", was released in August 2019 as part of the scrapped project.
DeMartino referred to the album's creation as "medicine" during a difficult year in her life. She stated that the album served as the "long 'let's be honest' discussion" that she often found easier to express through lyrics and melody rather than her usual long-form YouTube content. In June 2023, DeMartino revealed that Paintings of Me was accidental and was formed due to her constantly writing new material.