THE RHYTHM OF LIFE

The Rhythm of this little painting caught me by surprise with the swirling clouds, seagull tossed by the wind and girls hair joining in with the music!

Red Towel and seagull – acrylic on board – 50x50cm

The Rhythm of Life (A Blog by Mike Barr)

“There are many ways of appreciating paintings, like composition, mood, drawing, colour, perspective, drama, technical skill and more.

There is one thing though that we often like in paintings but we may not find the word for – and that is rhythm.

Rhythm, apart from being difficult to spell, is seen quite plainly in some famous works. The first one I thought of was Turners snowstorm at sea painting in 1842. This grand impressionist portrayal of snow, wind and sea, looks as if it was painted under the guidance of the swaying arms of an orchestral conductor. The painting moves musically and it has caught the rhythm of real life with its swirling brush strokes and harmonious colour.

In some ways rhythm can be more apparent in good abstract work, where brush and colour are unhindered by reality. My own appreciation of this type of work is marked by the visual music it produces.

Vincent was the master of rhythm. He caught the movement in trees like no other, and his starry nights blazed with atmospheric distortion as often happens on a hot summer night. Don McClean caught Vincent’s rhythm in his song ‘Vincent’ in 1971 – arguably the most beautiful song ever written about an artist and their work.

The rhythm of life is not always easy to catch in a painting, but it is worth thinking about. Often it will mean exaggeration of certain elements of colour and form and this will drag us away from being totally realistic – and this, I believe is the beginning of being an artist!”

Happy painting.