Have you ever been to a special place? Like something in the air just felt good? I’ve heard artists call it a place of predilection. I made this painting in one such place. This spot is a pavilion next to some soccer fields that sits right under some mountains and a creek. The wind coming off from the mountains is something magical.

In preparation to visit this special place brought 4 canvases to choose from. I started with the biggest one and found that the picture needed to grow so all four pieces were utilized.

While I was painting I spoke with a musician for a while. We were comparing choral singing to painting. She mentioned overtones. I had never heard of this phenomenon. She said that when she sings in the choir and everyone is really on pitch, there is another harmonious note that can be heard that no one is singing. Sort of like an audio rainbow. I thought that was so mystical and wonderful and, of course, wondered how the idea could be translated to painting.

I’ve heard painters use musical terminology when they talk about their process. Charles Hawthorne in Hawthorne on Painting said that when the color notes are tuned just right, there is a sense of reality that sets in. I wonder if that sense of reality is sort of like musical overtones. What do you think it looks like when a painting has perfect pitch?