16 Atmospheres for Paint and Piano

...is a series of paintings exploring of the atmospheric connections between paint and piano music. Compelling inspiration came from the luminosity and ephemeral beauty of early 20th century compositions. I interpreted works by the French composer Debussy as well as Satie and Ravel, later adding Chopin. As Debussy described, the freedom which music possesses “is a mysterious correspondence between nature and imagination”.

Each piano composition also provides its own unique substance and a kind of “object” for me to create the painting from.

The piano’s voice has many expressions, and as the music varies, so do the paintings. Each draws from the piano’s temperament, texture, and harmonics. The choice of mainly French composers from the turn of the century was a consequence of listening and looking for both lyric beauty and anti-gravity in piano music.

The piano’s voice has many expressions, and as the music varies, so do the paintings. Each draws from the piano’s temperament, texture, and harmonics. My choice of mainly French composers from the turn of the century was a consequence of listening and looking for both lyric beauty and anti-gravity in piano music, and this period was a particularly rich source. Debussy, Ravel and Satie knew each other and were known to share ideas and aesthetics. They were all influenced by an infusion of Oriental culture sweeping through Europe, with“exotic” sounds such as the Balinese gamelan which inspired Debussy's experiments in East-West harmonic fusion.

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