Plate 8: Fra diavalo
Most people find the everyday sounds an intrusion on their peace of mind and generally try to blot them out. It would not interest them to notice any differences or variations in their make-up.
But to me they mean a different shape, colour or contour for the construction of a picture.
Once, while travelling on a train, which had just come to rest at a signal the brakes began to slip as it was on an incline, this caused a continuous squeal. But although the sound level stayed constant the pitch changed.
I found this interesting, because if this had been used as a subject for a painting the figure or shape would have two shades of colour.
The reaction I get from people after seeing my paintings, apart from thinking that I am completely mad, is a blank look. And when confronted with the question "well, what do you think of it?" I usually get the answer " I like it but I don't understand it."
This book is an attempt to help people comprehend the vast array of sound that surrounds us, and to use this bottomless mine of subject matter for the purposes of art.
So in the most basic form is an explanation of how to understand sonism.
For example; take two household items: a cup or class and a tub of butter.
If we strike the cup or glass with a spoon and then thump the tub of butter on the table we will have two different sounds to work with.
And this is where the term 'visual description of sound' comes in.
List all the ways to describe both sounds. The cup or glass first. 'High pitched' so it would be a pale colour. 'A thin sound', so the actual shape of the figure would be slim in some way. 'A sharp definite sound', the figure would have a well defined edge.
And the figure in the painting would be all of these things plus the 'shape'.
This part is more difficult as each person would have a different opinion as to how it should look.
In my view it would be horizontal, of star like appearance with many uneven points, the points long and needle like as the sound is high pitched with a strong harmonic sequence. And one point trailing away, to represent the fading of the sound.
The colour of the figure would be a shade of yellow. There would also be internal textures and minor sounds to help obtain the right effect
It is a help to repeat the sound several times so as to register on the mind as you would to memorise music.
A tub of butter thumped on the table gives almost the opposite sound.
Listing the definitions is as follows:-
Low in pitch, therefore a dark colour. A heavy sound, so the edge would be obscured or indistinct. The shape of the figure would be dumpy, or more like a doughnut.
And because it is a plastic container there is also a smack as the plastic comes in contact with the surface. This would add character to the figure as there would be higher pitched overtones to allow for, above the sound of the butter bulk.
So, out of the rather shapeless figure there would be lighter shades of colour emiting. And what at the first consideration was a nondescript sound, really good possibilities as a subject for a painting has developed.
Plate 8: Fra diavalo
Plate 8. 'Fra diavalo' the overture by Auber. 18"x24" oil on board dated 1962. My first attempt at the visual description of music.
This piece is like an infantry column marching off into the distance, the theme well supported by side drums proceeds in a long diminuendo, finally to a silence, represented by the dark oval. Then it returns in a long crescendo, eventually to explode in an array of colour.
This is a fine example of suspence and expectation with the silence in the centre.
Plate 9: Nocturn in Db Opus 27 No2
Plate 9: Nocturn' in Db Opus 27 No2 by Chopin. Oil on canvas 20"x24". Dated June 1974.
The wave effect represents the gentle undulating accompaniment to the main melody line, which is shown as columns. All the other shapes and lines simulate the various runs and embelishments. This painting was my second attempt at painting music and was more planned than the first.
In my early days I found that the initial ideas on a subject were very firm and fixed in my mind, but after spending some time working on it they tended to fade and get a bit lost.
As this was really the experimental period of my work, problems like this could only be expected
Plate 10: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso
Plate 10: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso by Saint-Seans.
Oil on canvas 30"x20" dated July 1975. At the time this one was one of my favourite violin solos, and I ofter made vain attempts to play the piece. It being far beyond my capabilities. But it did help in constructing this painting. The picture is based on the main segments of the piece. The upright blue ovals represent the massive bass beat at the beginning of the rondo, and all the finer lines the violin part which runs everywhere. The comb like effect is of the violin part which is a passage of heavy chord construction.
Plate 11: Crown Diamonds
Plate 11: 'Crown Diamonds' overture by Auber. Oil on canvas 25"x30". Dated January 1976.
A piece of music more like a fairground, with many themes and ideas happening.
This painting moves anti-clockwise with the music, starting in the centre with a very peaceful movement which seems to drift around crossing over and joining up in a continuous pool of tranquility. It is then followed by an unusual feature of my painting style, an inverted bass. This is a thunderous bouncing passage, and I have placed it at the top of the painting to give a steam hammer effect.
After this comes all manner of figures, like leaves being blown along in the wind of the storm like passage ( which is shown as a heavy cloud effect). The rest of the overture is a repetition of various passages that have gone before
The music of Auber makes an ideal subject for painting as the themes and passages are so distinct.
Plate 12: La Streghe (The witches dance) op 8
Plate 12: 'La Streghe' (The witches dance) op 8 by Paganini oil on canvas 24"xl8" dated Feb 1976.
It is not easy to construct a painting from Paganini's works as quite a lot of his music is pure pyrotechnics and would fall into a set format of violin sound.
This is my first painting based on Paganini's works, I feel further paintings on his music would repeat in a similar fashion a large percentage of this first painting.
There is a peculiar incident attached to this painting, which happenend when working on it.
It was my routine over this period to carry out my engraving during the day which is my means of making a living, and working on my paintings in the evening.
During the weekdays I did this without fail month in month out the room I used for this purpose was 10 feet square with 2 windows.
I would listen to my tape recorder and paint. One evening, while working on this picture, which was at the stage where I had to paint the centre figure. Listening to the music the inspiration came and I was able to sketch it straight onto the canvas. It came so easy, as if I had been instructed what to do; I was very pleased with the result.
I then infilled with flake white, this took most of the evening, afterwards sitting back to admire my work.
At this stage I felt uneasy, that there was another presence in the room behind me. It seemed as if it was something to do with the figure I had just created, which by now to me had become decidedly sinister.
I am not a superstitious person, but this really frightened me. Gathering my thoughts I left the room, not to return for 3 days.
My wife Olive commented the following evening about me not painting, and I gave some weak excuse about having a break.
When I did go back the first thing I did was to colour over the centre figure, altering the effect. So in actual fact this is not a true interpretation of what I heard and felt.
Since then the painting has held no peculiar feelings for me
Whether the device has ocurred before anywhere, if any significance is attached to it I don't know, but I will never forget that night and the cause of my discomfort lies there just under the surface.
Personally, I feel that if one does not understand something it is best to have an open mind.
A further peculiar development to this story. When I had my exhibition in Calvia Vila in 2002 a visitor came up to me and asked why I had included in my painting a devise that represented the devil?
Plate 13: Artists Life
Plate 13: "Artists Life" Waltz by Johann Strauss II oil on canvas 24"xl8" dated Feb 1976.
A Painting intended to show the movement of the waltz, and defining the beat at the begining of each bar as a column spouting up and outwards.
Out of all the hundreds of Strauss Waltzs1 this one was chosen just for the title.
Plate 14: Minature Overture
Plate 14: "Minature Overture" Nutcracker suite by Tchaikovsky. Oil on canvas 20"x24" dated March 1976.
The first in a set of 8 paintings. This painting is very light and feathery, with the melody starting in the bass and being repeated higher and fainter each time, until it almost disappears
The pearl like necklace represents the flute passage which has a peculiar bouncing effect.
And the vertical line work and colours the strings in the higher register.
Several of these effects and passages colour the following paintings, which help to bring a completeness to the set of 8.
Plate 15: March
Plate 15: "March" Nutcracker suite by Tchaikovsky. Oil on canvas 20"x24". Dated April 1976.
It is very difficult to explain exactly what is intended for every painting, as it needs the music to refer to.
Basically, in this painting the columns represent the main theme, repeating and increasing in volume.
There is a repetition of runs in the background of the music. This is shown as a tide of sound.
The step like effect represents the pizzicato passages in scales.
This explanation does not cover all figures shown in the painting, the others are of a similar nature.
Certain characteristics occur in other movements of the suite, which will explain similarities between the 8 paintings.
Plate 16: The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
Plate 16: "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" nutcracker suite by Tchaikovsky. Oil on canvas dated April 1976.
This is a figure by figure explanation of a piece of music with very distinct themes.
The introduction of pizzicato strings is represented by the green emblems, followed by the chimes or Glochenspiel, being the red globes.
And in the bass, the dark shapes that run into each other. The white wriggly lines is the same theme in a higher register. Hovering strings are shown as inverted pagoda effects, while the white globes are the higher registers of the chimes.
Plate 17: Trepak
Plate 17: "Trepak" Russian Dance, Nutcracker suite by Tchaikovsky. Oil on canvas 20"x24" dated May 1976.
This painting is almost self explanatory. A piece of music that gradually excelerates, with tambourines shown as yellow stars.
Plate 18: Arabian Dance
Plate 18: "Arabian Dance" Nutcracker suite by Tchaikovsky. Oil on canvas 20"x24" dated May 1976.
This is a great piece of music for atmosphere. It gives the impression of subdued light and eerie feelings. The melody winds out of nowhere, which is shown as the centre figure. The tambourines are shown as a perculiar white spiked tracery. This is where the set rules of Sonism give way to just feelings
Plate 19: Chinese Dance
Plate 19: "Chinese Dance" Nutcracker suite by Tchaikovsky. Oil on canvas 20"x24" dated June 1976.
Another piece which is almost self-explanatory. The green earing like figures are Pizzicato string passages.
The blocks are the quick moving walking bass line. It is interesting to note the comparison between this painting and the "Arabian Dance" (Plate 18) this picture can be itemised definate figures and the other ethereal.
Plate 20: Dance of the Flutes
Plate 20: 'Dance of the Flutes' Nutcracker suite by Tchaikovsky. Oil on canvas 20"x24" dated September 1976.
It is difficult to explain this picture without having the sound to go with it. Except for the heavy central part of the movement with its ominous threatening effect, which is shown as black cloud like shapes moving forward in waves. Tchaikovsky often used this idea in his music of delicate passages backed by massive sections.
Plate 21: Dance of the Flowers
Plate 21: 'Dance of the Flowers' Nutcracker suite by Tchaikovsky oil on canvas 20"x24" dated October 1976.
The central feature is the introduction which is swathed in cadenzas by the harp.
Peculiar worm like forms represent the clarinet section as they range higher and higher in pitch.
The Waltz tempo of 3 beats to the bar is shown by the curve from left to right. Compare this with the painting "Artist Life" (plate 13) which has a waltz rhythm as well
On the left top is the string section supported by the brass, shown as a round effect.
Plate 22: The Alarm Clock
Plate 22: 'The Alarm Clock' oil on canvas 20"x24" dated November 1976.
This painting is the first one I based on sound other than music.
It is of the variation of ticks, clicks and spring noises which play on the mind when semi-conscious.
The main feature being the sound of the alarm. The background represents the passing of time from night to day.
Plate 23: The commuter train
Plate 23: 'The commuter train' oil on canvas 20"x24" dated December 1976.
A painting which is more easy to describe than the previous, as it is purely item for item.
The speckled background is the noise of the train as it approaches, the brown pot like objects are the sound of the wheels over the joints in the rails.
Followed by the squeal of brakes, which is the octopus like figure.
Commuters slamming doors is represented by the green umbrellas. What looks like musical notation are commuters walking along the platform.
The vacuum pump on the brakes is shown as a wavy brown fence and finally the 2 yellow circles represent the guards bell to start the train.
Plate 24: Starlings fighting
Plate 24: 'Starlings fighting' Oil on canvas 20"x24" dated January 1977.
The central feature is starlings fighting over food on the ground, rising several feet into the air, unaware that smaller birds have moved in to take it.
The smaller birds making smaller sounds, resulting in smaller figures.
There is a good example of distance with the background sound of other birds.
This is almost the equivalant to a landscape in conventional art, in fact a soundscape.
Plate 25: Seashore sounds
Plate 25: 'Seashore sounds' Oil on canvas 20"x30" dated April 1977.
This painting was from recordings taken on the beach at Thorpe Bay, Essex.
It is basically the continuous sound of the sea breaking on a shingle beach, which is the background, the calls of seagulls are shown as a line of arches which emphasises my idea of repetition within a single sound.
A Person walking across the shingle is indicated by the groups of columns.
There is a strong breeze which rattles the metal cables and attachments on the masts of small craft in the yacht club. This is shown as a series of yellow tripods.
The sound of the sea is peculiar. It can play tricks on the ear, always changing. It is similar to listening to a seashell, it rolls around, advances and retreats, rises and falls in pitch. With this painting all the sounds are simultaneous which is the reason for them passing through each other.
Plate 26: Barking dog and Motorcycle club
Plate 26: 'Barking dog and Motorcycle club' Oil on canvas 20"x24". Dated May 1977.
This painting is of various sounds of motorcycle engines, from the high revolution low powered machine to the throbbing high powered machines. Also the dog barking at them.
This is a good example of a single overlapped sound fading into the distance.
Plate 27: Blackbird in a Thunderstorm
Plate 27: 'Blackbird in a Thunderstorm' oil on canvas 25"x30" dated October 1977.
This painting was composed from a recording of a violent thunderstorm that occurred in the early hours of the morning at the time of the dawn chorus.
The dark coloured plates are the massive thunder claps, like great rocks rubbing together and the red tracery is the splitting sound of the thunder.
A solitary blackbird sings, which is represented by the centre figure.
Sometimes a visual description of sound looks similar to the real objects, and this is how the painting turned out.
The figures looking like arab palaces are the sound of raindrops and the green swirls the sound of running water.
Plate 28: Capriccio Italien
Plate 28: 'Capriccio Italien' by Tchaikovsky oil on canvas 20"x24" Dated Oct 1977.
Another very colourful piece by this composer. Certain unavoidable characteristics crop up that are in his other compostions.
This one creates a whirlpool effect. The changes in tempo help greatly in painting his works.
Plate 29: Mood Indigo
Plate 29: 'Mood Indigo'. By Duke Ellington Oil on canvas 20"x24" dated October 1977.
The only modern piece of music I have painted to date, it was played by a jazz band.
Yellow represents the trumpet and trombone, the clarinet by the curling column and the white figures at the bottom is the banjo.
The feel of the music is reflected in the background colours.
Plate 30: Overture 1812
Plate 30: 'Overture 1812' by Tchaikovsky oil on canvas 25"x30" dated December 1977.
A kaleidoscope of sound, that is the only way to describe this piece of music.
The church bells are represented by an explosion of crescents in various colours.
Grey box like figures are the crisp side drums as they advance through the music. There is a marked dominance of trombones shown as columns at various angles with reverberation spread at the bottom.
The brown spillage represents the very heavy bass melody as it meanders from one level to another. The crossed splinter figures portray a melodic battle in the string section, and what appears like hollowed out piles of stones is a hovering up and down the scale in the double bass section.
Plate 31: Cat and wood fire
Plate 31: 'Cat and wood fire' oil on canvas 20"x24" dated Feb 1978.
This is an ideal combination subject to paint, as all the parts can easily be identified.
The sound of the cat half asleep purring, shown as comb like figures.
A freshly lit wood fire burning with some extra loud cracks, represented by small prickly cactus like objects and the loud reports by the large spikey semi circles.
A clock ticks methodicly on, shown as a spiked object with 2 holes. Tick is upwards and tock downwards. Somebody enters the room and the door creaks, covering the complete range of sound from bass to treble.
Plate 32: Prelude and aragonaise
Plate 32: 'Prelude and aragonaise' carmen by Bizet oil on canvas 20"x24" dated April 1978.
A painting that falls into the 'difficult to explain without the music' catagory.
The opening string passages are shown as flickering tongues of colour
A dark shadowy column represents the first massive burst of the full orchestra, which has a star like effect on the side depicting the crash on the cymbols.
A more obscure side of sonism has come into play with the construction of this picture, it being based mostly on feelings when listening to the music.
Plate 33: The milkman
Plate 33: 'The milkman' oil on canvas 20"x24" dated April 1978.
This is the sound of an electric Milk float with its rattle of bottles (lower left brown area), a squeal of well worn brakes (the flare in the middle of the 2 brown sections.)
Then the milkman walking up the path (the curly brown objects with flat tops). The hammering on the door knocker (the star like figures), deposits the full bottles (indicated by the joined up rings) and collects the empties (the yellow crescents), his footsteps recede.
The milkman then drives off, indicated by the right hand lower brown section.
Plate 34: Seguedille
Plate 34: 'Seguedille' from Carmen by Bizet oil on canvas 20"x24" dated Hay 1978.
Bizet is another composer whose works are colourful and so in turn when transferred to canvas are also very colourful.
The strength of the Waltz Rhythm shows as an undulating bass for the other features of the music. Atmosphere and mood are also very strong in this movement as emphasised by the colour.
Plate 35: Les Dragons D'Alcala
Plate 35: 'Les Dragons D'Alcala' from Carmen by Bizet Oil on canvas 20"x24"
This movement is quite a small one. There are fleeting melodies and this painting is mainly the feeling of the music. I find a similarity in the movement to part of Tchaikovskys Nutcracker suite.
The grey figure represent side drums, square outlines are also part of the same rhythm sequence.
What appears to be inverted yellow raindrops signify the rather singular flute passage.
The idea behind this painting is to give a feeling of evaporation and dispersment.
Plate 36: 5th Symphony
Plate 36: '5th Symphony' by Ludwig Von Beethoven Oil on canvas 24"x36" Dated 1990.
To date the largest painting on Sonism. To explain this picture in full would take a volume.
Briefly, it comprises of 4 movements. The 1st 'Allegro Con Brio'. Being in the centre, comprising many variations of the famous theme which is the morse code sign for the letter 'V used in the 2nd World War.
Horizontal lines of impact from the Orchestra run out from the centre like shock waves.
The 2nd movement 'Andante con Moto' is to the left of the painting which comprises a relatively quite section, but telegraphs the passages to come.
In the 3rd movement 'Allegro', there is a feud amongst the bass section of the Orchestra, across the lower part of the painting which is highlighted by Pizzicato strings. There are also ghostly shapes which lead up to the suspense and massive impact of the fourth movement 'Allegro', which is to the right of the painting.
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