Rhythm 'n' Blues

The saxophone dances the rhythm of her notes across the air and between these notes, our heart and soul beats to her sound.

The painting certainly provided challenges... Working with such a limited palette meant that the awareness of values was a very important key to the success of the painting. It also involved a play with warmth and coolness of colour, not just in the contrast between the golden yellows and the cool misty blues but also within the individual colour ranges. It's hard to see from the jpg (apologies for this) but the blues in the background warm up nearer to the source of the light and there is also graduation  between the warmer and cooler blues on the shirt, getting cooler as you move away from the saxophone. Lastly I had to battle with all the fiddly keys and levers on the saxophone to give the impression of reality but not too much so that it becomes the total sole focus of the painting. I wanted it instead to be more part of the whole... almost an extension of the person. The use of warmth in the hands and face mirroring the warmth in the saxophone hopefully helps with this too.

Ona