Key of Eb Major

This piece is one of 12 in a series called 'Keys' - Major and Minor. Each colour depicts the base tonality of the sound of the titled key with lyrical abstract shapes making up the composition of that chord in music. The surface treatment of each painting was coated with a layer of Resin.

The 12 keys were part of an exhibition called Colour Ensembles at the Side Gallery in Brisbane. Colour Ensembles is music-in-paint journeying through Light, Sound, Form and Colour. Designed to excite all the senses, this collection of paintings represents the corresponding vibrations of colour alongside select sounds including two famed Miles Davis tracks.

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I’m an expressive painter exploring colour by interpreting music and sound into a visual language. Music and Colour can be paired by resonance, harmony, and composition along with many other sensory parallels, as proven by historical artists in this abstract tradition (Kandinsky, Klee, Albers). Working with the correlation between music and sound I’m uncovering endless possibilities as a conceptual framework for my practice. I explore these ideas in a combination of methods including intuitive mark-making, rhythmic brushstrokes, formalist geometry, and the continued practice of light intersecting orb compositions. Besides oil on canvas, I’m experimenting with a combination of materials such as collage, pigmented resin on board, relief shapes on acrylic perspex or panels. Often my aesthetic approach incorporates design elements that stem from experiences as a visual designer.

My inspiration to make art in this tradition is an ongoing pursuit to integrate my two passions: Art and Music. Born into a musical family, I’ve learnt music theory and played piano from an early age through to adulthood. I’m endlessly thrilled with this playful abstract approach to the making of images that are musical in some way. The artworks are either interpreting sounds, or titled with the language of musical movements from either classical music, jazz improvisation or inspiring tunes. My work aims to visually capture many elements related to music. Mostly, I’m expressing ideas related to tone, pitch, tempo, resonance, volume, harmony and composition.

My work is deeply influenced by the history of abstraction and in particular the artists of the Bauhaus School in the mid 1920’s including Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Jossel Albers. Kandinsky’s theories in ‘Concerning the Spiritual in Art’ are a pivotal reference for my paintings, especially when considering colour effects and the use of forms towards an abstract language. I’m also interested in musical composers that have worked closely with colour such as Oliver Messiaen, Scriabin, and Schonberg. I am fascinated by the visceral effects of colour while exploring a range of mediums, colours and forms that capture musicality in art.