Dearest Cleo
I hope you are having a good time in Italy. I am sure the weather there will be better than here, it is raining and miserable, but the music is lightening my mood a little. Today I am listening to this;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEGOihjqO9w
First listen closed my eyes and created this
Figure 1 (17 08 08 01) Concerto I, graphite on A4 cartridge
For the second listen I watched and became entranced with the musicians and how into it and emotional they were and created these.
Figure 2 (17 08 08 02) Concerto II, ink on A4 cartridge
Figure 3 (17 08 08 03) Concerto III, ink on A4 cartridge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okSpoz6ZUOU
I listened to this with my eyes closed and created this
Figure 4 (17 08 08 04) Concerto IV, graphite on A4 cartridge
The pencil drawings remind me of Auburn’s drawings, perhaps I am learning to draw like a child after all or maybe Auburn has natural rhythm.
It has given me a bit of insight as to why Kandinsky extolled the value of music in art, perhaps they need to go a little further maybe like this; I first traced from concerto 1 and 2,rotated and combined them in a new trace. Re-traced with a bit of reductionism and then drew the result in Conte crayon
Figure 5 (17 08 08 05) Trace music I piano, Sharpie on tracing paper
Figure 6 (17 08 08 06) Trace music II violins, Sharpie on tracing paper
Figure 7 (17 08 08 07) Trace music III an arrangement for piano and strings, Sharpie on tracing paper
Figure 8 (17 08 08 08) Trace music IV An arrangement for piano and strings with full orchestral accompaniment, Sharpie on tracing paper
Figure 9 (17 08 08 09) A music, Conte crayon on A2 sugar paper
Critique
For me it is the soaring violins over a rolling piano.
The piece is a square format and drawn in bright colours both of which are a trifle unusual for this artist. The colouring calls to mind a bright summer’s day in a faraway place almost as if the artist is preparing to go on holiday to sunny climes. The bright red and orange highlights cause the eye to flitter across the piece in a pleasing manner,
The mark making is visible and varied I particularly like the economy of stoke that captures the reflection of the land in the sea. There is an energy and a roughness to the mark making that adds vibrancy to the final piece.
Space is introduced into the piece by using overlapping; perhaps paler mountains would have increased the sense of depth but I like the contrast between the purple and the yellow, so perhaps it is a moot point.
For context, the artist seems influenced by both the post impressionists and the early abstract painters, there is also something of Odd Nedrum in the curving horizon but the shape of the land mass surely means the biggest influence of all is Venus de Milo’s bum.
Have fun in Italy
Mickos x
Dear Cleo 