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 I see a lot of work in which symbolism is dominant, often with a mythological, religious or historical reference, and perhaps because I don't have an urge to create work like this, I feel somewhat out of the mainstream of figurative art, at least out of the current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

You are very good at seeing compositions on the run, Allan. Whatever happened to the one in the elevator?

Speaking of Degas, I'm going to take another look at his work with this in mind.

David, thank you! That's very amazing and wonderful that you saw all these things in the painting. :)
No, I wasn't at all--but when I was a college student majoring in art history, I fell in love with Vermeer's work, and that painting was one of my favorites! It still is. I have no doubt that my favorite works are imprinted on my brain, and show themselves in various ways in my art. I never would have noticed the similarity, though, until you pointed it out, but now I can definitely see what you mean. I like the way Vermeer used the curtain as a formal element, establishing the foreground and also as a device to let the viewer know he/she is a voyeur watching the scene unobserved.

Alex, I recognized this lot immediately! This painting makes me want to slide up the arp and somersault in the picture to hear the music of this trio (I am sure the musician on the wall is playing too).
What a great light and atmosphere, the painting is so strongly bond, every single bit belongs to the ensamble, be it skin, metal fabric or wood.
Just beautiful
Ilaria

Ilaria, just come on in, slide up the harp and make yourself at home! Actually, I'd love to see you arrive that way!! I knew you would recognize my kids. They look pretty much the same today. (By the way, after we met at the Tate, they kept saying how nice you were.)

Thanks for the compliments on the painting. Your approval means a lot.

What a very convincing sense of space this painting has! The protagonism of the boy is heightened and helped by the figure of the girl-- I think if she were not where she is, the composition would not be as effective. It is also very impressive how, given the size of the painting and therefore consequently the size of the boy

Dear Alex,

My goodness, this is a wonderful painting! I did a real doubletake, because as you know Alex, I have visited in this room many times, and know your two subjects as well! This is very real and natural to me to the tiniest nuance. You are an amazing painter! Bravo!

Is there a recording too? :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Garth

Thanks, Carlos and Garth!

Carlos, you are right that my daughter leads the way into the painting. I had first thought to only paint her playing the harp, but I think that idea ended up evolving into the portrait known as The Young Harpist (probably because that girl's dress and harp are so spectacular). This evolved another way. After all, when a violin and harp play together, the harp is the accompanist. So it makes sense that your eye goes towards the violininst. It was pretty intuitive while I was designing the composition, but it's clear to me now (thanks to you all pointing things out)!

Garth, thank you for your vote of confidence-- it is reciprocated! I'm glad to know you think the room looks natural. I spent a long time and many repaintings getting the color right. For some reason, maybe because our house is rather dark in the evenings, the value changes and exact hues (especially in very dark values) were very difficult to balance. As for recordings, we probably do have a video of the concert when they played the duet. Do you think I should attach sound to this painting?

Alex,
what a beautiful compositon!
My eyes jumped immediately on the violonist and I was surprised by the intensity of his concentration ( I even imagined the music...so maybe no need to attach sound). The contrast with the quiet athmosphere around, even the harpist is really great.
Wonderful exemple of a successful composition supporting a subject!

Hi Marina--I was just kidding about attaching sound. Imagining the music is really so much better.

Thank you--I'm so glad you like the composition!

Alex, what a beautiful work! Your kids will probably end up fighting over who get to keep this nice painting when they are adults.

Dear Alex

This is such a lovely piece! Regardless of whether it is symbolic or not, to my mind it is a leader in figurative painting today. It is a painting that looks so confident and masterful and says that the artist knows exactly what she is doing! I love the richness in the muted colours. It gives a warmth to the room and the mood. And, as everyone else has said, your composition is wonderful - daring but balanced at the same time. A really impressive piece and another example of how splendidly talented you and your whole family is. What a rich life you must all have, and have had.

Thomasin,

Thank you--your appreciation of this painting means a lot. The color scheme is very different from yours, but that's what makes looking at other artists' work so interesting. I'm convinced people actually see colors differently or at least react to them differently. I couldn't for the life of me paint with the colors you choose, but that's why your paintings are so fascinating to me. All those chromatic changes within a very small value range! When I try to paint without light and shadow (on a cloudy day, for instance) I am not very successful. I do love dramatic lighting like the light in this painting. I used to exaggerate the contrast because I loved it so. It took me years to tone it down to a believable value range.

Alexandra, what a fabulous painting! You must be very happy with this one. So exciting to look at! The action, intensity and interaction are all wonderful. The color and composition- dynamic!

...wow. :)

christy

Thanks so much, Christy! People who come in my studio have noticed it and liked it, so I thought I would post it here. I can't tell you (and everyone else) how much I appreciate your comments. As I said at first, I haven't done much figurative work, and it varies from figures in a landscape to more dominant figures in a setting. I'm still just experimenting.

One frustrating thing is that many galleries are not interested in showing figurative art--it is not consistent with their image. Yet figurative art is becoming very popular in certain segments of the art world. In New York, it sells extremely well in galleries that lean more towards "traditional realism," but I'm hoping that more "contemporary realist" galleries will start showing it, too. Really, it seems silly to distinguish between "traditional" and "contemporary" realism because there are so many varieties in-between, and several movements in realist art are coming together in an exciting way.

I agree with all the complements that have been given to this painting, but what I really love is how well you have captured the feeling of an artistic "moment". We have all walked into a room or turned a corner on a road and glimpsed a view where everything was right, the light, the forms, the mood. All too often it is only a fleeting sense of what could have been a great painting. You were lucky and talented enough to see it and put down. Well done.

Vianna Szabo

Vianna, thank you! I think the point you make about recognizing an artistic moment and putting it down is what art is all about. Sometimes (often) a concept starts with just such a moment and develops in my head, and sometimes it starts in my head and really takes off when I happen to see something in life. I take your point as a reminder to be more aware, to carry my camera around, to not say, "Oh, well, I'll come back another day and try to recreate that."

Here is a beauty I missed while playing nurse.

What an elegant composition. I love the dramatic swoop of the harp. One wonderful touch, I think is quite enchanting and brings it right into the 21th century is the young man's bare feet under the sheet music holder.

Beautiful brushwork as usual and a stunning design.

Thank you, Sharon! Your words mean a lot.

Alex, this is lovely. I've been so busy this summer I've missed some gorgeous work. I like the intensity of the boy's face and the spatial tension between the two figures, as well as your wonderful brush strokes.

Thanks, Julie! It's nice to hear from you. I understand what it's like to be busy. Time seems to pass all too quickly. So I really appreciate that you took the time to make such a nice comment. Hope all is well with you.

The Duet in AAA show, New York
 

Recently I heard that this painting was accepted into the Allied Artists of America's 94th Annual Exhibition at the National Arts Club in New York City.

It is my first figurative piece ever to be accepted into a juried show! I want to thank everyone on the Forum who responded to this thread, because it is in a large part due to your positive reaction and encouragement that I decided to enter this.

It's wonderful, Alex,

I have always liked your realistic style, it is so refreshing in this Age of Photo-realism.
Congratulations and good luck with the show. :thumbsup:

Congratulations Alex,

May you go on to win a prize as well! It is a lovely painting.

I didn't see this painting before. I love the tension in your subjects. I love playing music, and do play the violin. You have captured the thrill of making music. The composition is wonderful. Congratulations and good luck.

Allan, Vianna, Sharon and Linda--thank you for all your kind words!

Alex,

Big congratulations. I've always loved this painting.

David

Wonderful news Alex! It is well deserved and I am very happy for you. Congratulations!

Congratulations Alex!
That's very good news : this painting is so well balanced and full of energy.

Thanks so much, David, Enzie, and Marina!

Wonderful news! Congratulations!