Music can be joyful and uplifting, rousing and energising, mysterious and meditative. It can also be so sad it brings you to tears. How does music do this with no visual cues, only notes, tones and sound? How can it have such a powerful emotional effect?

 

These are the questions I'm exploring in my work, using colour, tone, shape, rhythm, form and texture. Like music, my paintings are abstract but they have a strong underlying structure, with a visual rhythm and pattern. My use of warm and cool colours creates 'push' and 'pull' - a tension and a release. I use harmony and dissonance to evoke a sense of sadness or joy, mystery or meditation. 

 

Some of my paintings are vibrant and full of energy, whilst others are quiet and contemplative. 

 

My aim is not to interpret or depict specific pieces of music, but to express my own emotional response to them in visual terms - as Music for the Eyes.

 

Peter Pateluch BA (Hons) Painting