The first 6 Ossias
I painted a wedding present for some friends; the painting came out well but it had not the celebratory air I wanted; so I did a second version or ossia, to use the term from music when the composer includes an alternative version of a line of music, this is the second painting in the sequence.
I had been wanting to do something akin to a set of studies as developed by Debussy or Ligeti, where the pieces would stand on their own but could also be seen as a set of studies in technical matters. My material is separated into 6 layers, I can change the order of the layers and rotate or otherwise transform the material in each layer. I can also leave layers out. I want each painting to be lively and celebratory. I hold a wonderful image of William Christie soberly dress in a suite dancing at the curtain call for Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes amidst the spectacularly costumed performers. I thought I might relate each painting to a renaissance or baroque dance form but am not so sure that will be a good idea, apart from any other aspect painting will have to remain as my ossia for dancing as I have two very left feet, an expert on dance I am definitely not! I cannot imagine Rameau as a dancer but that did not stop him writing the most joyful dance music.
The sixth painting went well then I realised I wanted a clarity in the colour akin to an early Dutch painting, so the solution was obvious, after wavering I have now repainted it in oil. It looks little different in a photograph but has a far greater depth of colour.
The seventh painting is already finished, I also thought of using oil paint for this but instead played with the tension between its “painterly” style and the flat surface of the acrylic. Therefore I have a painting that looks like acrylic but done in oil and an acrylic that looks like oil!
