HARMONY

Acrylic on  canvas, 10 x 20 IN.

The word “harmony” gets thrown around a lot. We think of it with music and relationship but with this piece, I discovered harmony within the study of opposites.

Harmony comes from the Greek word “harmonia” which means joint, agreement and concord. The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as an agreement of ideas, feelings, or actions, or a pleasing combination of different parts. One could easily extrapolate those definitions to mean harmony underscores the similarity of elements or the balance found in common foundations. But then, harmony can also be found in the fusing of opposites, such as found in this piece.

The theme of this piece is harmony, as stated, but the inspiration came from nature. It’s always fascinated me that most foliage in the living world is some shade of a cool green yet flowers are all the things that are bright and warm. Now, photosynthesis with the light spectrum, bees pollinating as they’re attracted to bright colors, birds and bees… the flows of nature that can be parsed and explained through science but there’s still something magic there. The magic is harmony, connection. In a world full of contradictions and missteps, it’s hard to see those connections and find that purpose as life goes on… reflect on a flower. Living really isn’t that complicated but it sure feels that way sometimes. Reflect on a flower.

To express this construct and simplify heavy pondering on a 2D plane, I thought  about the grounding and structure we don’t see in nature. All those chemical bonds and dry mathematical theorems where we overthink and analyze, from that the background was born in shades of stems before roots and supporting the flower. Then, came the flow of the flower in vibrant, radiating orbs. But, harmony isn’t something explained, it’s shown without words. Three components in this painting’s composition were used in this study of opposition to reflect the true harmony we often forget: warm versus cool in tone, linear versus round in form and, lastly, painterly versus formal in brushwork. In this piece, I hope the viewer sees the harmony they feel they’re missing is actually all around them in all the great small things. Remember, reflect on a flower.