Music of the Future

Music of the Future 12X40 Pastel on paper

Music of the Future depicts the last section of a sonata by the baroque composer Domenico Scarlatti, a work that I have painted at over 20 times. Here, it takes on the colors, and the title, of a magical painting by Peter Doig.

The choice to pair the sonata with this painting and spend so much time studying both is based on a sense of longing to be there in Doig's painting myself.

One notable detail of Doig's work is the unique placement of the moon, which appears to be depicted as a reflection in the water. This location is the reverse of its expected presence in the sky. Perhaps the moon is too far above the horizon to be visible. However, this choice forces the viewer to search for the night sky in the water, where it shimmers with the reflection of the shore.

Music of the Future - painting by Peter Doig

The pattern of the carpet refers to objects in Doig's painting - the mysterious placement of the moon, its reflection on the water, a canopy, a marketplace, and a lavender-colored shore filled with activity.