The Duet

[Alexandra Tyng]

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?

[Marina Dieul]

Originally Posted by Alexandra Tyng

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

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!

[Alexandra Tyng]

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!

[Enzie Shahmiri]

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

[Thomasin Dewhurst]

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.

[Alexandra Tyng]

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.

[Christy Talbott]

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