Vivaldi Winter Music Study

Project: Winter Study to Music

I played Vivaldi’s Winter music but it was so short relative to the amount of time required for painting, but it did sort of set the scene but no more.  I am not someone who requires that sort of stimulus once I start to attack the canvas.

The painting is Acrylic and Ink on canvas as uses Acrylic both as a watery paint and also as impasto for the texture.  I tried to develop as many marks as possible and wanted to introduce some movement into the picture as well as areas of mystery and calm.  I find that the difficulty with abstraction is knowing when to stop.  This is a gradual learning process and I would rather err on the side of stopping sooner rather than later.  Doubtless, however, one could go a lot further but it takes confidence to do it because you don’t want to spoil what is already there in front of you.

I hope the paint explores the sharp wintery aspects against the softer contrasts, which for me is what winter is about, with soft skies and blanketed snow as well as hoare frosts and sharp twigs and branches.  I had in mind the fall of a snowflake as it gradually distorts and melts as well as combining the mythical snow queen image in a sort of underworld.