Harmony - Accent

Oil on panel

48 x 48 inches

2018

SOUND PAINTING series

In art, accent refers to an emphasis laid on a part of an artistic design or composition. In music it refers to a stress or emphasis on any given musical tone or chord.

I began by building up the background first with ambient sound, then a wave sequence. I achieved this through multiple thin layers of paint and glazes. I then switched to string to apply paint on the sound wave. I used layers of alternating warm tones and cool tones in order to achieve this using rubies, garnets and pink sapphire as inspiration for colours. I kept the vibration low in order to not interfere with the accent colour that would eventually be added, while keeping the frequency high in order to ensure that the music bounced. I listened to a lot of fast paced “hot” music in order to feel that.

Then came the accent. Since the body of the painting was inspired by precious stones, I used a precious metal as my cue for the accent, and painted in a bright gold. I blended it over the red to create a sense of it shining. I slowed down the frequency of the rhythm on the accent, since the high key colour turns up the volume in this section.

The colours of red, red orange, orange, yellow orange, and yellow are side by side on the colour wheel making them analogous, therefore harmonious. By playing with balance and ratio, I was able to allow yellow to be the accent while maintaining harmony.