Interpreting Music with Color Blog

"Air"
An Interpretation of Edvard Grieg's Holberg Suite: Air
24" x 18"
Acrylic on Gessobord

Here's a sneak peek of one of the paintings interpreting Grieg's Holberg Suite: Air that will be debuted today at the SMAC Gallery in Marshall, MN from 5:00-7:00. Showing Sept. 19-Oct. 23.

Future exhibits include Luther College, Decorah, IA Oct. 25-Nov. 30 and the Norway House in January.

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That's Grieg! September 6, 2019

9/6/2019

An invitation to my exhibit "That's Grieg!" an interpretation of Edvard Grieg's music at the SMAC Gallery in Marshall, MN, from whom I received an art grant along with the McKnight Foundation.

Will also be showing this exhibit October 25-November 30 at Luther College, Decorah, IA accompanying the Grieg/Dvorak Concert by the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra at the Center for Faith & Life Nov. 8 & 9 at Luther.

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Always Being Made New: August 6, 2019

8/5/2019

"Always Being Made New"
Acrylic on Gessobord 11 x 14"

I find myself staring at the title of of this painting. I repeat it over and over in my mind. How can we possibly take in these words as truth when the news of this last week is so full of carnage, sorrow, darkness and pain? I painted this weeks before the incidents of last week. It was a commission, the title chosen. When I painted it, I painted from a place of my own struggles and suffering. Out of darkness, Light. The words gave me hope. Then, again, more carnage, more lies, more greed. I looked to these words again, from II Corinthians 5:14-17.

This painting was commissioned by the ELCA's "Always Being Made New" Campaign. Signed and numbered exclusive prints of my painting were given as a thank you to those who supported this five-year campaign. Donations exceeded $250 million dollars: $16 million to the ELCA Malaria Campaign, $5 million for congregations, $33 million for the Global Church, $24 million for Leadership, $117 million for ELCA World Hunger fund, and $55 million planned gifts to Campaign priorities. People donated what they were able according to their means and the result passed expectation. It was inspiring! It made it very clear to me that a number of people working together with generosity and purpose can really make a difference for the world. It made me realize once again, of the good within people, the capacity to think beyond themselves to love their neighbor. I was honored to be a part of it and thankful for people who share the gifts they've been given. Look for the good, it is there. Light in the darkness.

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news," Fred Rogers said to his television neighbors, "my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping."

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Hear My Voice: July 25, 2019

7/25/2019

"Let Your Prayer Rise Up"
from Hear My Voice: A Prison Prayerbook
12 x 12" Acrylic on Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides
Ready to hang.

When I did these illustrations for the Hear My Voice prayer book, I leaned into the abstract, which is what I normally do. Sometimes abstract art can speak more truthfully to people, according to what their story is. This book was created for those who are incarcerated, who have lost hope, who are searching. As I painted this one, I suggested prison bars, darkness and the hope that is out in front of us and in us. This warm yellow light amidst the cool blues, violets and greens leaps out. I started to think, what are my prisons? What are those things that drive me that aren't necessarily life-giving? We all have them, I would wager, but sometimes it is hard to look at them truthfully. For me right now, my prison is my weight. My body is confused right now after my lumpectomy, radiation and now, an anti-estrogen pill for five years. I comfort myself with food, which isn't evil in itself, but it is the type of food I choose that isn't always helpful. The prison I struggle with is letting my self-image weigh me down, pun not intended. It does become a prison (not to belittle the actual hell people experience in prison) and so I look at that yellow and pray that I will have the courage to find comfort in feeding my body in a healthy way. I pray that this prison will be lifted from me and I pray that whatever your prison is, that it too, will be lifted from you. Keep your eyes on the Light, there is hope in the darkness.

"Let Your Prayer Rise Up" is part of "Hear My Voice: A Prison Prayer Book" which will launch in August at the ELCA's Churchwide Gathering. Here's a link: ://go.augsburgfortress.org/hear-my-voice-a-prison-prayer-book. The prayers are written by those who work with the incarcerated, have been incarcerated, and others. They are beautiful prayers that translate to our own prisons. Interspersed are 15 of my paintings. These books are now available!

* This painting is available for purchase at $250. Email me at RobynSandAnderson@gmail.com if interested. I will be posting more.

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Hear My Voice: July 17, 2019

7/17/2019

God the Advocate
created for Hear My Voice: A Prison Prayerbook
12 x 12" Acrylic on Gessobord
Ready to hang

God the Advocate, the champion, upholder, supporter, backer, promoter, protector, and patron, according to the dictionary. How often do you think of God in that way? Do you end up thinking mostly of a god who is distant and judging? Aloof and punishing? If so, these descriptors must be disorienting. Jesus speaks of sending an Advocate for us as he faces the end of his earthly life. What a beautiful thing that is. There are so many things these days which are troubling, disturbing and frustrating, things which call for an Advocate to walk with us, to guide us.

I have painted a few different renditions of this painting, on days when I need to see light in the darkness, a visual reminder of God's Spirit, the Advocate who walks with us. Psalm 139:12 says "even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you." So many of these paintings that I created for Hear My Voice: A Prison Prayerbook have ended up being a gift back to me as I wrestle with the separation and suffering of children and their parents on our southern border, and the lies, hatred and division that is promoted by the current administration. I pray that the Advocate will continue to move us to where we need to be to love our neighbors well.

"God the Advocate" is part of "Hear My Voice: A Prison Prayer Book" which will launch in August at the ELCA's Churchwide Gathering. Here's a link: ://go.augsburgfortress.org/hear-my-voice-a-prison-prayer-book. The prayers are written by those who work with the incarcerated, have been incarcerated, and others. They are beautiful prayers that translate to our own prisons. Interspersed are 15 of my paintings.

* This painting is available for purchase at $250. Email me at RobynSandAnderson@gmail.com if interested. I will be posting more.

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Interpreting Music with Color - Bach's Mass in B Minor June 28, 2019

6/28/2019

"Agnus Dei"
Lamb of God
from Bach's Mass in B Minor
36" x 24"

This last painting interpreting Bach's masterpiece is quite different than the first three. I worried a bit about that. You often see artists whose paintings all look "the same", you can readily recognize their work. All I can say is that when I listened to this last movement called Agnus Dei, the music changed, it simplified, its tone was subdued and softened. I actually had a different idea for the bottom two/thirds of the painting, with a little more movement. But everything in my being told me to stop. I love the simplicity of it as do I love the image of Christ as the Lamb of God. I followed the music.

You can see a video montage of each of these paintings while listening to the music that inspired it. It is very meditative. I hope the color, texture and movement carry you more deeply into the music. Go to www.RobynSandAnderson.com. Hover over the tab "Interpreting Bach's Mass in B Minor" and the four sub-tabs beneath. Click on each one to find the video and music.

"Agnus Dei"
Acrylic on Gessobord with 2" Birch Sides
Ready to hang. SOLD

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Interpreting Music with Color - Bach's Mass in B Minor: June 27, 2019

6/27/2019

"Sanctus"
from Bach's Mass in B Minor
36" x 24"

Sanctus means "holy". I thought about that a lot as I chose the colors and envisioned the movement inspired by this part of Bach's masterpiece. What is holy after all? Bach's Sanctus begins for me with a burst of spirals and sound. This song is all movement, with layers of voice and complexity. I knew that I wanted to portray this work with a burst of many colors and explosive movement. It evolved for me to the beginning of the universe, when all was set in motion, the planets and stars, shadow and light. And then the deep bass comes in giving us a foundation from which this burst flies up and out. It is glorious in its praise to the One who created all that is.

I grew up thinking that "holy" was something lofty and beyond myself. My particular journey has helped me to see that so many "ordinary" things we encounter in this life are indeed holy and sacred, from new plants lifting themselves out of the dirt to reach for the sun, to the eyes of a baby when they first really connect with you and a smile bursts forth.

While I am painting, I have a lot of time to contemplate life. As I immersed myself in Sanctus and thought about Bach writing this incredible work, I wondered, what was he thinking as he put these notes together? What did he want to say about life and faith with these instruments and voices? What I hear is that he was pointing to a Creator who takes delight in the beauty of this planet in all of its ordinary and extraordinary holiness. This music is our response to that Love.

You can see a video montage of each of these paintings while listening to the music that inspired it. It is very meditative. I hope the color, texture and movement carry you more deeply into the music. Go to www.RobynSandAnderson.com. Hover over the tab "Interpreting Bach's Mass in B Minor" and the four sub-tabs beneath. Click on each one to find the video and music.

"Sanctus"
Acrylic on Gessobord with 2" Birch Sides
Ready to hang. SOLD

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Interpreting Music with Color -Bach's Mass in B Minor: June 26, 2019

6/26/2019

"Credo: Et Crucifixus"
from Bach's Mass in B Minor
36" x 24"

In this second painting interpreting Bach's B Minor Mass, we turn from the Kyrie and Gloria to a more somber note. The music of Et Crucifixus immediately made me think of Jesus' plodding footsteps carrying the weight of the instrument that would kill him to the place of his death. Have you felt the weight of sorrow, of pain, of the evil that pervades this earth? Bach captures that heaviness with notes that sound like a heart beat or the pounding of nails. In this painting, I tried to capture the feeling of that heaviness, and the repetition of awful events like these throughout history. Are we destined to repeat hatred and injustice? No, I say with the bright yellow entering our darkness. This light sweeps in an arc suggesting the movement of God, along with the two other circles, Jesus' death on the cross and God's Spirit, who moves in and through us, who is our Advocate. Death will not win the day.

You, too, can see a video montage of each of these paintings while listening to the music that inspired it. It is very meditative. I hope the color, texture and movement carry you more deeply into the music. See the tab above "Interpreting Bach's Mass in B Minor" and the four sub-tabs beneath.

"Credo: Et Crucifixus"
Acrylic on Gessobord with 2" Birch Sides
Ready to hang. $1260

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Interpreting Music with Color-Bach's Mass in B Minor: June 24, 2019

6/24/2019

"Kyrie Eleison"
from Bach's Mass in B Minor
36" x 24"

On June 21 & 22 this month, the Bach Roots Festival performance of Bach's Mass in B Minor took place. I had spent the last two months creating four interpretations of this work, spread out over its expansive expression of the Mass. I chose to interpret Kyrie Eleison, Credo: Et Crucifixus, Sanctus and Agnus Dei. It was difficult to choose, because this work is extraordinary and hearing it live, directed by Matthew Olson, was full of vibrant life. I don't think I've ever experienced such a performance before. It was in fairly intimate settings and it allowed one to be enveloped by its beauty. I had a video montage of each painting created, which was projected on a screen above the choir, drawing people more deeply into the experience of the music. The originals were also there flanking the choir and orchestra. It was an honor to participate in this performance.

You, too, can see this video montage of each of these paintings while listening to the music that inspired it. It is very meditative. I hope the color, texture and movement carry you more deeply into the music. See the tab above "Interpreting Bach's Mass in B Minor" and the four sub-tabs beneath.

"Kyrie Eleison"
Acrylic on Gessobord with 2" Birch Sides
Ready to hang. $1260.00

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Hear My Voice: June 14, 2019

6/14/2019

"God is Making All Things New"
Acrylic on Canvas 12" x 12"

God is making all things new. This phrase for me is like jumping into a pool of cool water when I've been in the hot sun for a few hours. It's shocking, really, and so refreshing! This is a reminder that the force for good, for love, mercy and forgiveness is at work in, around and under our lives on this beautiful planet and throughout the greater universe. I need to put this phrase on a wall in my house. Maybe every room. On my dashboard in the car, in my bike basket, okay...you get the idea.

When I feel overwhelmed by the awful things people do to other people, when I see the greed that perpetuates systems that harm people, when taking care of this planet comes second to the accumulation of wealth, when people lose everything with a catastrophic illness, when people can't afford the medication they need to live, the heaviness is hard to bear. It is overwhelming. I want to hide from it all, run away. But I cannot. Because I believe that part of the reason I am here is to love my neighbor. Sometimes this feels like slogging through heavy, wet mud. It feels like getting lost in some dense brambles without a way out. Sometimes my own physical struggles weigh me down. But then I read this phrase. God makes all things new. It brings tears to my eyes, because it is grace. I don't have to do it all. I don't have to save the world, or our country, or my loved ones. God is in it. God's Spirit moves to heal, to lift up and to connect us to each other. Together we can love the world. Together we can love one another. God makes all things new!

"God Makes All Things New" is part of "Hear My Voice: A Prison Prayer Book" which will launch in August at the ELCA's Churchwide Gathering. Here's a link: ://go.augsburgfortress.org/hear-my-voice-a-prison-prayer-book.

* This painting is available for purchase at $250. Email me at RobynSandAnderson@gmail.com if interested. I will be posting more. This painting has SOLD.

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Hear My Voice: May 20, 2019

5/20/2019

"Pray Without Ceasing"
Acrylic on Gessobord with 3/4" birch sides 12" x 12"
Wired to hang.

People speak about prayer from different perspectives. I remember feeling very uncomfortable with it in my teens and early twenties. It lined up with my own questions, doubts and wrestling with who this God is. Everyone has their own stories that color if they can even equate the notion of a Greater Power with the word God. Sometimes they use the word Universe or Light. Different languages and religions have different names for this Greater Power. Yahweh, Allah, and God are all names we've assigned to help our understanding. of something beyond ourselves. None of these names are adequate, because the Great Mystery is beyond our comprehension. I've come to learn and appreciate that some people experience God in nature, a newborn baby or in the beauty of music, poetry or art. I've also come to appreciate that prayer, sometimes formal, sometimes informal, is a conversation, a connection to that which we cannot fully understand but that we trust is behind, underneath and in front of all that exists.

This painting is an illustration of prayers for morning, noon and night in the Hear My Voice: Prison Prayer Book, Pray Without Ceasing. Is your life a prayer? Um, yeah, I don't feel like mine is...but I wonder what it would be like if I prayed without ceasing. Seems impractical and impossible. But what if we were more mindful of God throughout our day? What if we expressed gratitude daily? Would it change how we see and act in the world? My husband and I have started a gratitude bowl. I cut small pieces of paper and left some pens by this bowl. When I see it on the dining room table, I stop a moment and write something down, fold it and throw it in the bowl. It's a tangible reminder to give thanks. I've not run out of things yet! This painting, too, is a reminder of a mindfulness and awareness to connect with God and each other throughout the day, however you speak of this Love which surrounds us and is in us.

"Pray Without Ceasing" is part of "Hear My Voice: A Prison Prayer Book" which will launch in August at the ELCA's Churchwide Gathering. Here's a link: ://go.augsburgfortress.org/hear-my-voice-a-prison-prayer-book.

* This painting is available for purchase at $250. Email me at RobynSandAnderson@gmail.com if interested. I will be posting more. This painting has SOLD.

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Hear My Voice: May 9, 2019

5/9/2019

"Light for a Weary World"
Acrylic on Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides
Ready to hang.
12 x 12"

A large dose of light would be good about now. Sometimes coming up with titles for a painting is the most difficult part for me and often, I will change it several times as I see new things in it. The title for this painting was given by Augsburg Fortress Press, who commissioned this painting along with 15 others for a prayer book specifically for incarcerated people, but I believe we all have our own prisons. I found the title Augsburg Fortress gave this one was both strong and poignant. Maybe it is because I am feeling particularly weary, personally and as I read the news. How does one find hope when feeling pummeled by forces beyond one's control? This painting together with the title breaks through the darkness that holds us...a poignant reminder that our stories are not the last word. That there is a Story that is beyond us and out in front of us, drawing us toward a Light that breaks through darkness. That is good news!

"Light for a Weary World" is part of "Hear My Voice: A Prison Prayer Book" which will launch in August at the ELCA's Churchwide Gathering. Here's a link: ://go.augsburgfortress.org/hear-my-voice-a-prison-prayer-book.

* This painting is available for purchase at $250. Email me at RobynSandAnderson@gmail.com if interested. I will be posting more every Friday. This painting has SOLD.

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An Invitation to Mt. Olive Exhibit on May 10 - June 12, 2019

5/8/2019

The Gospel Freed
24" x 36"
Acrylic on Gessobord with 2" Birch Sides

An invitation to my art reception and exhibit of 27 paintings at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church Gallery, Friday May 10 at 6:00pm, 3045 Chicago Ave, Minneapolis, MN. Stay for a Hymn Festival honoring Paul Manz at 7:30 with reception after.

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Hear My Voice: May 3, 2019

5/3/2019

"In Death There Is Yet Life"
Acrylic on 12x12" Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides

My husband grew up on a farm. When we are driving he likes to point out what is happening in the fields, like "look kids! open soil!" when it first peeks out from under snow (family joke). I don't mind, because both of my parents and grandparents grew up on farms, so it is in my blood. I have a great respect and empathy for farmers. I think I love the four seasons, because we get the great contrast of spring after a long hard winter. I'm always amazed that from what appears to be dead, new life springs up. We take it for granted, but think about it. It is really incredible that out of a dark, hard seed in the ground a sprout of green breaks through the dirt. It grows with water and sun. Sometimes it produces food that we can eat and sometimes beauty that we can treasure. It is a miracle, truly! And it does it year after year! I am struck in my own life, how God has created good from some really hard things. Sometimes in a big way, but usually in small gradual ways. From death to life. From darkness, light. It is an amazing thing!

"In Death There Is Yet Life" is part of "Hear My Voice: A Prison Prayer Book" which will launch in August at the ELCA's Churchwide Gathering. Here's a link: ://go.augsburgfortress.org/hear-my-voice-a-prison-prayer-book.

* This painting is available for purchase at $250. Email me at RobynSandAnderson@gmail.com if interested. I will be posting more every Friday. This painting has SOLD.

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Interpreting Music with Color: April 29, 2019

4/29/2019

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"Morning Mood" (play music below)
An interpretation of Edvard Grieg's
composition from Peer Gynt
Acrylic on Gessobord with 2" Birch Sides
Ready to Hang: 24" x 18"

Today I put the finishing touches on this painting interpreting Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg's "Morning Mood" from Peer Gynt. I received an arts grant from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council to travel to Bergen, Norway last summer where Grieg lived and created his many interpretations of the beauty of Norway. I've found a great kinship with Grieg. He was a Romantic, as am I. He suffered physical pain from an illness, as have I. The beauty of his music speaks to me and he was prolific. This painting came to me as I was driving to my hometown of Decorah, Iowa, listening to Grieg's music, one of my favorite ways to visualize. (I know, look out!) Decorah is a very Nordic community and I grew up hearing Grieg's music every summer at Nordic Fest. Maybe it's in my bones. I find his music expresses such great beauty and I hope to express abstracted versions of his tribute to the natural beauty of Norway. I experienced that in Norway a hundredfold and I am very thankful for the experience of exploring the life, work and environment that inspired Grieg and visiting the land of my ancestors. I will be painting 8-10 paintings interpreting Grieg's work with my opening exhibit at the Southwest MN Arts Council gallery in Marshall, MN September-October 2019. More to come!

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Hear My Voice: April 26, 2019

4/26/2019

Dark Night of the Soul
Acrylic on 12x12" Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides

This morning I've been listening to Bach's Credo - Et Incarnatus Est and Crucifixus for the project I mentioned in my last post of April 24 from Bach's Mass in B Minor. As I look over the paintings I did for Augsburg Fortress's Hear My Voice: A Prison Prayer Book (see April 19 blogpost), I was caught by this painting called "Dark Night of the Soul". When asked to interpret the prayers written by the many prayer writers of this book, I had in mind that I didn't want every painting to be pie-in-the-sky, cheery and unreal to the experiences of those who will use this book. Yet, that was a challenge for me, for even in my own interpretations of the endless pain and weakness I experienced with the onset of rheumatoid arthritis. I tended to paint in vibrant and yes, hopeful colors. Maybe it was my defiance toward the illness, thumbing my nose at it trying to take over my life. A battle I didn't always win on a daily basis, but with rest and medication, I did get better, at least enough to function and paint again. I handed in these paintings for the Hear My Voice project and was asked a few days after to paint something to express the darkness, those times where we feel defeated, sorrowful and hopeless. And so, I came up with this painting, Dark Night of the Soul.

Today as I am absorbing this music for the second of four Bach paintings, I am struck by its mournful tones. It begs a darker hue. When I was in the hardest days of RA, I remember sitting in church, trying to hold my head up with my hand. It was the hymns in minor keys with words of God's presence in my suffering that spoke to me most deeply. Not the happy, happy, joy, joy songs. They have their place, but we cannot forget the hard parts of what we experience in this human journey. It is sometimes in those darkest moments that we truly experience God's Spirit speaking as a thread of light, a tether, a thread we can grasp and hold onto.

I will be posting one of these paintings every Friday (hopefully) leading up to the launch of "Hear My Voice: A Prison Prayerbook" in August at the ELCA's Churchwide Gathering. Here's a link: ://go.augsburgfortress.org/hear-my-voice-a-prison-prayer-book.

* This painting has sold. I will be posting more every Friday and more will be available for purchase.

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Interpreting Music with Color: April 24, 2019

4/24/2019

An Interpretation
J.S. Bach's Mass in B Minor - "Kyrie"
(A Cropping)

My high school choir was an experience most of us won't forget. Our director was a bear. Not literally, because that would be something, but let's just say he had a "challenging" personality. We tiptoed around him. But, I find myself looking up to the sky and thanking Mr. Sexter these days. He pushed us to sing college level choral pieces. I remember singing some of Bach's difficult masterpieces in chamber choir. I think about him now, wondering what troubled him, but knowing that he found solace in some of the same music I am now interpreting as an artist. I want to say, thanks Mr. Sexter, for exposing us to such beauty and pushing us to master it and share it with an audience.

I started a new project a few weeks ago collaborating with Matthew Olson and his Oratory Bach Ensemble to interpret Bach's Mass in B Minor. I will be painting four interpretations which will accompany Matt's first annual Bach Roots Music Festival taking place in Minneapolis June 16-24 with concerts on June 21 at Summit Center for the Arts in St. Paul and June 22 at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in So. Mpls.

This is a cropping from the first painting interpreting the beginning Kyries. Kyrie Eleison "Lord, have mercy" and Kyrie Christe Eleison "Christ Have Mercy". I will be featuring a few croppings along the way as I work on these paintings and will show you the completed work when I get them scanned in early June. Listen to the opening of Bach's masterful work below.

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Interpreting Music With Color - April 19, 2019

4/12/2019

"The Human Spirit"
Original art 24" x 18"

Last year I was selected to paint interpretations of 15-18 prayers written primarily for those who are incarcerated. "Hear My Voice" a compilation of prayer and art is coming out in August 2019 from Augsburg Fortress Press and the ELCA.

When I was invited to submit my artwork for consideration for this project, I was especially touched by why they wanted to include artwork in this book of prayer. They wanted to include beauty and color for people who are so deprived of these gifts when in prison. Color. We take it for granted don't we? What would it feel like to be deprived of this most basic thing. What does that do to the soul?

I have been very interested of late, in the power of combining the arts, music and art, dance and music, written word and art, and any and more combinations of these. When you combine the arts, it is like looking at something that is 2-D and flat and then seeing the same thing in 3-D. Our perceptions and experience are enhanced. And so, for people imprisoned, this book is offered as a window and reminder of God's presence. Beauty in word and art is offered. To be able to offer my paintings to ease some suffering touched me deeply and I was honored to be part of this project.

I will be posting one of these paintings every Friday (hopefully) leading up to the launch of "Hear My Voice: A Prison Prayerbook" in August at the ELCA's Churchwide Gathering. Here's a link: ://go.augsburgfortress.org/hear-my-voice-a-prison-prayer-book. These paintings are now available for purchase.*

* This painting measures 24" x 18", acrylic on gessobord with 2" birch sides, ready-to-hang. $630. To see the full painting, here's the link: http://www.robynsandanderson.com/purchase-originals.html

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Interpreting Music with Color: March 9, 2019

3/6/2019