The Duet
 

Oil, 30" x 24"

This is the first time I've posted in the figurative section. I don't do many figurative paintings. I see a lot of work in which symbolism is dominant, often with a mythological, religious or historical reference, and perhaps because I don't have an urge to create work like this, I feel somewhat out of the mainstream of figurative art, at least out of the current trends. I guess my approach is more purely descriptive. I'm curious to hear what people think.

The wall in the hallway to the right is actually deep red. It was very hard to get an accurate photo of this.

Absolutely another stunning piece Alexandra. I feel the warmth of the room and the passion of the musicians, I can nearly even hear them playing too! Well Done.

Alex- as someone who loves symbolism and references, I don't think your work is out of step with the times. The work looks contemporary to me, and I enjoy the subtle juxtaposition of the traditional (the instruments and decor) with the new (clothing and the subjects themselves.)

The execution of this painting is spectacular as usual. It has a complete feeling of depth and atmosphere while staying loose.

I can't even begin to say enough about the composition. It works so well, and I wonder how you came up with it!

Cheers!

Alex--

This composition is just breathtaking...you never fail to find the unexpected, arresting angle.

This just astounds me.

--TE

Beautiful, Alexandra!

I love how your treatment of the violinist's hands suggests movement.

I'm also very impressed by the musical composition... all the elements seem to flow and relate in sweeping arcs.

The scene/subject matter reminds me very much of a Vermeer.

Thank you for sharing this, it is so inspiring!

Gosh, Alex, this is a wonderful painting! I love the perspective and the mood and the painting is both contemporary and traditional at the same time.

You never fail to impress me.

Wonderful painting, Alex,
Is this at home? I like the crowded, controlled feel of it.

Thanks, Ngaire, Lacey, Tom, Anna, Linda and Allan! I can't tell you how much your affirmation means to me. For some reason--I guess because I like joyful rather than brooding or moody subject matter, and because I'm new to this-- I feel it's tricky to paint what I'm drawn to paint in this genre without being corny or too sentimental, and thus I'm really nervous about how people will react to any figurative piece I do.

Actually, I didn't quite mean that I'm adverse to symbolism. It's just that, in my figurative work (and this is just emerging for me since I haven't done many yet) my use of symbolism seems more intuitive, or maybe a natural product of the idea that forms around the composition. In this painting I was thinking about the way two musicians play together, taking cues from each other. My kids were 16 and 13 when I took a bunch of reference photos for this. It was the one and only time their music teachers could get them together to perform a duet at their music school and it was my only opportunity to watch them practice together. As many of you might guess from some of my portraits, I love music and musicians playing.

I got the idea of the angle when I walked though the door to the music room at night and saw the foreshortened curve of the harp silhouetted against the dark hallway wall. It was so dramatic! (So, Allan, in answer to your question, this is in my house.) My daughter was practicing,so I asked my son to play with her for a while. I started working on this several years ago, but I was not completely happy with the color, so I reworked most of it using real observation of the room at night and digital photos taken recently.

Alex, I guessed from the intimate arrangement of the composition. One feels like a fly on the wall. That kind of compositions have to be seen on the run.
Degas comes to mind.

Bravo!
 

Alex,

This is a truly beautiful painting. I find my eye gliding around the painting, taking in all the lovely passages, the "scenes within the Scene"...starting with the figure in the foreground (your daughter) with her back facing us, the sweep of the harp upward, the molding of the archway, gently conveying our attention over and down, the angles of the violinist's bow and the music stand repeated again by the stairway in the background.... the painting is a delicately balanced concerto, certain themes repeating themselves, variations that result in a delightful set of rhythms.... and because of the mastery and confidence with which it is painted, the strength of these details in no way detracts from the overall unity of the piece. And I love the ambiguity of your daughter's possible attention: is she looking at the music on the stand or glancing up at her brother?

The interior, belonging to an obviously older home, gives the sense that this painting could have been painted anytime during the last hundred years or so - as Linda mentioned, it has a both a contemporary and traditional feel at the same time. And I love the inclusion of an earlier Tyng painting in the background...

I do wonder: were you consciously aware of Vermeer's The Art of Painting (Artist in his Studio) while you were painting this? The compositional similarities are striking: the arrangement of the figures, instead of a painting on an easel, it's sheet music on a stand... the modest chandelier, the self-referential painting-within-the-painting, not to mention the musical theme!....very, very interesting!

Simply put: it is an arresting painting. Breathtaking!

David