Jun_19 About Waltzing . . .

This painting has an interesting background story that I’d like to share. It began when, at the age of ‘almost’ sixteen, I asked my Uncle Leon Zuckert if he would write me a waltz for my upcoming birthday. Since he was a concert violinist and a composer, I knew that he would agree. I’ve had the sheet music in my possession since then. I had every intention of learning how to play it on the piano, but given that the piece is very complex and that my piano skills are wanting, it just never happened.

Then, a few years ago when my dog of 16 years was getting ready to die, I found myself thinking about death and the fact the my Uncle Leon was the first person close to me that I lost. He was on my mind a great deal and I decided to do something with the music. I decided to transfer the music to a canvas. The transfer is done by taking a photocopy of the original and placing it face down on a canvas with matte medium already on it. Then the paper is soaked and slowly rubbed away. This leaves the canvas with the ink transferred and the paper removed. I took the sheets to a photocopier and had them copied in reverse since I wanted it to come out in the correct orientation.

Next, I felt into the music and into the feeling of loss. Out of that, the painting emerged. I used a variety of items including threads and feathers and crackle medium.

This is now part of my ‘not for sale’ personal collection. It hangs beside our piano in a tribute to life, music and memories.

Here is the Waltz if you’d like to listen to it . . .