What a place to begin this exciting project - with Debussy’s preludes, Feux d’artifice or Fireworks!
Joseph DuBose writes, “The last of Debussy’s 24 preludes, Feux d’artifice (“Fireworks”) is extremely technically challenging. It depicts a brilliant and spectacular fireworks display over Paris, and captures in tones the many furious streaks of rockets and their colourful explosions in the night sky. Sweeping runs, outlining two major thirds a semitone apart, open the prelude, perhaps depicting the anticipation of the audience, while isolated tones, like little points of light, sound in the upper register of the piano. The texture of the piece grows ever thicker and more complex and colours abound as the harmonies, figurations and dynamics change to give representation to the wondrous display and patterns of coloured light. At its close, the visual display begins to slowly fade away. Over a tremolo in the bass a brief quote of La Marseillaise is heard before the last flashes of color.”
I have decided to create a large round painting evoking fireworks or lights in the evening sky. Similar to the way that light, opacity and transparency work in the night sky, I intend to use a technique of overlaying transparent glazes on both colourful, abstract, randomly-made flows of paint, and opaquely rendered shapes. Stay tuned for more images as they come…