There’s a 20 paintings for 2020 project on now ( instagram #20_for_2020). In 2019 I happened to finish 19 paintings which is my best yearly score so far and I’ve decided to reach number of 20 by the end of 2020 for a star of a new decade. A whole programma had to be arranged around this. It has got plenty to do with music and literature as usually ( almost exclusively since 2016 ). The last series of the 2019 was the 4 autumn memories loosely based on FOUR AUTUMN SKETCHES by Amy Beach – the series of painitng having for title THE ABSENT DIALOGUE. But I’ve came to concslusion of Amy Beach’s music not being really suitable for what I’ve came on with – so the music is absent from this series now. And if there’s someone who could get inspired by it to write some you’re very welcome to do so.
The first 2020 series is the LIEUX RETROUVES – a group of four landscape compositions. I’ve been bearing the idea of picturing the landscapes of my home region in Slovakia for a while already and was really strugling with this. Then in April 2019 I was sent the arrangement of Thomas Adès’ Lieux Retrouvés for small orchestra and I’ve fitted the subject on his music in four parts: Les Eaux (The Waters) , La Montagne (The Mountain), Les Champs (The Fields), and La Ville (The Town). As I made four trips home in that year I’ve picked up one picture from each trip around the year and started to work on paintings which adopt the titles from the musical suite but disrespect the order of a score in regard of the season pictured on each of my paintings go : Les Eaux (spring/April), Les Champs (summer/July), La Montagne (autumn/October), and finally La Ville (winter/January).
CONSOLATIONS is the second series which will probably get finished before the others. Franz Liszt’s Piano Suite of 6 Consolations ( Tröstungen ) is the base for these. In February two first Consolations got done: #3 I Pini di Roma (Tramonto) and #1 Les Platanes à Versailles (La promenade solitaire le jour de la Chandeleure).
Reflections on Works of God in the Nature by Christoph Christian Sturm is a litterary work which have inspired me to the largest of the series I’m work on now, this will be devided into three groups: ECSTASIAE, MEDITATIONES, and HARMONIAE.
The first sketches of LUDI series were made in Slovakia early january with three portrait studies of my nephew and his two older sisters. This will come up later this year ( maybe in summer). LUDI is about children’s games in our small family garden around the year. 4 seasons > 4 compositions picturing my younger brother’s childrens and some of my cousins playing in the garden. I believe this is going to be all a very tender-feel paintings.
The score’s up and goes:
A Little Tipsy ( #1 from Burlesques) by Béla Bartòk for spring : To Play Hide and Seek;
Papillons Blancs ( #2 from 2 pièces pour piano) by Jules Massenet for summer: After a Ball;
Phantoms (#3 from 4 sketches) by Amy Beach for autumn: By the Turtle Pit;
Kinderspiel by Alastair Putt for winter: With the Sparklers.