An Interpretation of Peer Gynt's
Death of Åse
by Edvard Grieg
Acrylic on Gessobord with 2" Birch Sides, 24x36"
Ah, life. Sometimes it throws you a curve ball. Then it's just figuring out how to handle it for good or ill. Hopefully, for good. I've always thought that the practice of painting, figuring out what step to take next, trying things that don't work, and then figuring out again how to make the next step is a lot like life. In this first painting interpreting "Death of Åse" from Peer Gynt, the composer Edvard Grieg creates a sweeping beauty of plaintive melody that does not speak of dark, colorless night. For me, it speaks of the deep beauty of Norway's natural landscape, the sorrow of leaving it and the hope of that to come. I believe this painting is close to finished. I will put it away for a time and start the next one, from Peer Gynt again, "Morning Mood".