Laura Tetrault

I have always felt a connection between instrumental music especially classical music, and my own process of creating work, but it has never been quite this literal before. November has been a month of romance with music. The curves and intricacies of the head of a violin capture my imagination. The carving and shape are absolutely beautiful. Fine instruments are probably one of the few comercial items that are hand made. I love the way the wood glows and the shape and the movement I see in such a small part of a violin, viola or cello.

Violins are one of my most favorite instruments. It is said that a violin comes closest to replicating the sound of a human voice. To me they are passionate and smooth and emotional. They are second in my playlist of classical music to piano pieces. There is a connection to music again for me, since many of my early memories include dancing or listening as my father played Fur Elise and other pieces on our piano at home. Some music always makes me think of him.

So, the process of this work actually began in October, when my husband treated me to a night out to the Seattle symphony to hear Handel's Water Music. Other pieces included Vivaldi and a beautiful viola piece by J.C. Bach. Most of my work is largely intuitive, something will interest me and I will think about it for a while, playing with it in my mind until it becomes something and comes out. In my studio, the hours waltzed out of October and into November accompanied by hours of classical music, not surprisingly heavy on the piano and violin pieces.

One evening when Chloe had gone to bed and Steve was working at home I had a few minutes to play and I was looking through my reference photo file. I came across the photos of my friend's violin that I had taken for "A Song for Sofia" and I knew that my work with those photos was not finished. I had two 12in x 12in canvases ready to go and began to sketch the head of the violin into the squares until I had something I liked. I especially loved the undulating curves of the violin set against the blocky squareness of the canvas. I love the way the brush feels when I paint like this, smooth and fluid, and almost musical in its own way.

While working on these two smaller paintings, I had a need for a large painting to hang in the entry hall of our house. I had a large canvas from school, with problems I had never been able to resolve inspite of numerous attempts. So with a few adaptations, the old canvas I couldn't fix and couldn't throw away got a whole new perspective on life.

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