I consciously wanted to work on a boring landscape scene by the water. The first draft was too busy, too agitated. In this second attempt I managed to capture a mood better. Actually, I wanted to convey more of the feeling that one has when an evening song or serenade is performed by the water in the early dusk.
The picture has some good parts, but I realized that if I kept working, I could quickly spoil the mood. So I’ll leave it at that for now.
It was only after I finished that I wondered why the mountain on the right has become almost like a volcano. I am pretty sure that it has to do with the fact that I reflected on the news about the severe volcanic eruption on La Palma in the last few days. (To include other natural disasters in my Covid-19 series is pending). And then I heard yesterday that the government in El Salvador had started to use the power of the volcanoes to mine Bitcoins cheaply. An exciting idea.
Personally, I always find it instructive to find out what music an artist was listening to when he was painting a particular picture. In my case it was an extraordinary piece of music by Tchaikovsky. He is actually not one of my favorite composers, is generally too lovely for me, but this piece is far from being a favor. Tchaikovsky Hymn Of The Cherubim.
Perhaps this music also exerts a special charm through visiting the monasteries in Cyprus.
So these impressions were probably also present when I painted this work. An abstraction of a monastery high in the mountains, the simple power that emanates from such sacred places. But Richard Wagner’s Valhalla is not far from it either.
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More of this at: landscape paintings
7 comments on “landscapes by the water and in the mountains”
swabby429
Whether music is played on a device or is playing in the mind, it does influence our creative output. I wonder what music Renoir listened to.
Zettl
The other day I saw an interview with Gerhard Richter. He says he ist listening to Bach, Schoenberg and Cage. Also my music for inspiration. Anyway I can see that my paintings look different according to the music I hear.
Cally Blind
Die Person, die zwischen den beiden Bergfüßen steht, hat Schmerzen.
Aber so wie er in den Himmel blickt, verliert er nicht die Hoffnung.
…
Ich habe es ziemlich lange angestarrt. Es berührt mich.
Irgendwie ist es auch sehr friedlich.
Sehr schönes Gemälde, Herr Zettl!
LG 🙂
Zettl
Vielen lieben Dank, Cally Blind! Sie haben es ganz richtig in meinem Sinne gedeutet. Dieses Thema des Leidens, aber zuversichtlich in die Zukunft blicken, habe ich in verschiedener Weise in einigen meiner neueren Arbeiten verwendet. Vielleicht hat es auch mit unserer Pandemie zu tun.
Dawn Pisturino
Yes, I can see the sacred in both of these pieces. They give me a feeling of peace. And, I had never heard of that piece by Tchaikovsky before. What hauntingly beautiful music! Thank you for sharing.
Zettl
Thank you, Dawn Pisturino, for your kind response! I am really pleased that you see the “touch of the sacred”. That was also the reason why I added the link to Tchaikovsky. Of course it’s a lot deeper with him, but I think a little bit of this spirit has flowed into my work.
Dawn Pisturino
Most definitely!