March 9, 2023
There are always 2 or 3 paintings in the works running in tandem for me.
This idea jumped to the forefront of my mind recently and refused to stay in my sketchbook any longer. So its making the jump from idea to painting.
Originally, the idea started out as a single musician playing the Erhu. An erhu is a 2 stringed Chinese instrument played with a bow. My grandpa used to own and play one and I remember times when we would gather around and listen to him play.
I was originally going to save it as a small quick painting and played around with different composition thumbnails here and there.
But a funny thing can happen when you noodle on an idea for days at a time — it starts to get more elaborate. A new scene began to form and a full on narrative started pouring out onto the page.
The idea was no longer a one dimensional story of a musician playing his instrument, it evolved into a narrative of suppression. A musician playing to his hearts content but blinded by a lover or love interest all while another seeks to sabotage him.
I'll share more of my thoughts behind the piece at a later date, but for now the idea must travel from paper to wood panel.
