Deep Dive Into The Colors Of Music

Prompt response

Subhi Najar prompted us to answer some questions about our relationship with music and painting. She hit a vein with me. I am a fan, and engage in both of those activities, so here are my responses to her questions:

1-What is your favorite painting? How do you personally relate to/connect with this picture?

This abstract composition by my loving partner is my favorite painting. It is the first painting I see every morning when I wake up, and the last painting I see every night before I fall asleep.

I like it because Lanta is not an abstract painter. She paints mostly gentle realistic landscapes. So this painting shows a rather intimate, mysterious, private, guarded side of her beautiful soul. It is like seeing her naked.

2. Can you write a text of fewer than 50 words explaining your favorite painting (the one in question 1) the way you see it?

I have studied every square millimeter of that painting over the years. I see a million images, feel every possible emotion, and harbor a thousand interpretations. Explaining that to someone would be like trying to explain why the Iron Pillar of Delhi has never rusted in over 1600 years. Cannot be done.

3- Who is your favorite painter, and why?

Pablo Picasso. The greatest artist of the twentieth century. He broke all the rules and opened the gates to abstraction. To call him a genius would not be inappropriate.

I have seen dozens of Picasso exhibits. Visited the house where he was born, and the bar where he hung out with his friends. The more I learn about him the more I like his work.

4- What is your favorite song? What are the connections you have with it?

That’s a tough one. A toss-up between two Bob Dylan songs: Desolation Row and Visions of Johanna.

Inside the museums, Infinity goes up on trial Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while But Mona Lisa musta had the highway blues You can tell by the way she smiles

It’s Johanna in a photo finish!

5- What is the song that takes you back to your childhood? Tell us more

My sister was a singer-songwriter, so I was there when she wrote the song “Como Una Ola” (Like a Wave) before it became a hit. It won the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in 1974. I miss her.

6- What is the song that takes you to the memories or/ and status of love? Tell us more.

Our wedding song “Simply” by Sarah Hickman fits the bill:

I’ll tell you simply I’m fallin’ for you I’ve never felt this way before. I don’t need flowers and I don’t mind tears I just need you through the years.

7- In songs, what is your primary focus: the lyrics or the melodies?

I’m a writer, so you better have something to say. That is why I’m a Dylan fan. The Nobel Prize laureate knows how to string words together.

8- Is writing more similar to music or painting? Let us know your perspective

Interesting question. I’m going to duck this and say: in all three disciplines you are trying to create an image.

9- Is writing your only creative way to express yourself? Do you sing, play music, paint, etc.?

All of the above. I am a photographer. I am a musician. I play many instruments, none of them well. I do paint. Wanna see? (link)

10- If your favorite song had a color, what would it be?

Oh my, that is tough! So I’ll go with Prussian blue since Visions of Johanna mentions the night playing tricks:

Ain’t it just like the night to play tricks when you’re tryin’ to be so quiet? We sit here stranded, though we’re all doin’ our best to deny it

Thanks Subhi for leading me down this path. I enjoyed it.