TM8139 Water Music - On the Dispersal of Notes (version two) 12x12 oil on panel
On December 10, 2010 I posted “Where do the notes go?” The post introduced two small paintings which considered where notes go when they leave their staffs – Notes Reaching Escape Velocity and On the Dispersal of Notes. Since then, and remembering a performance by Bruce Brubaker at Jordan Hall, I’ve reconsidered how truly subtle notes can be. Notes float away from their point of origin, but the keystroke can whisper, echo for a long time, and leave a trail of muted colors and nuances of feeling. It was inevitable. Dispersal of Notes had to be completely reworked. Above, you can see the new version of Dispersal of Notes.
Below, you can see the earlier version. In comparison, I’ve muted the colors, completely reworked the textures and sizes of the “notes” or “droplets,” repainted the lines signifying the staffs at the bottom, overlapped additional “echo” lines, added more color, and bent some of the lines as if they wanted to follow the notes into the atmosphere. I think the new version of the painting more completely expresses what I heard at the concert. Thank you, Philip Glass, and I tip my hat to Mr. Brubaker for allowing me to see in a new way.
TM8139 Water Music - On the Dispersal of Notes (Version One) 12x12 oil on panel
Teri Malo Studio 
Wow, that is beautiful!
Teri, I love the reworked picture and the ideas about notes and sounds as visual forms. I also love the way you are taking the reader through the process of creation with you. Very thoughtful and thought provoking.
An excellent synthesis of the two senses. They take me back to a moment when Segovia was here, playing in concert, and he held a note… I closed my eyes and the note seemed to drift forever changinging shape and color as it moved out into the infinite. I have wondered if there was a way to portray that experience, and I’m happy to see that you have made your own beautiful interpretations of something similar.
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