The Tone Poem Series

Mixed Media on Canvas

2019-2022

Tone Poems is a series of mixed media paintings that borrows ideas from the musical concept of a tone poem in which descriptive, narrative elements are used to describe a place, a time period, literary or poetic work, or a particular event. I use the fundamental structure of musical staff lines (5 lines with 4 spaces) as an underpainting for these compositions in oil and acrylic. I remain mindful of the staves while working as they appear and disappear throughout the work to suggest a compositional score upon which marks, shapes, and textures conspire towards a resolution.

In a sense, each painting has its own “tempo” revealed by means of its color scheme, surface textures, and brush stroke energy. Color shifts from cool to warm suggest changes in pitch or function as modulations from near to far. Other materials such as embroidery thread and strings from cellos or violins are attached to a surface to create a layer of spatial depth and lyrical expression.