Anou Mirkine Designs - Channeling Beethoven's Rapture

Beethoven composed his music while in a state of “Rapture.” When I paint while listening to his symphonies, I feel that state in my heart and in my hands. While I paint, Beethoven is my dancing partner—my muse. His compositions inspire my spirited lines, shapes, and gestures and color relationships. Immersed in the melodies, every stroke becomes a manifestation of uninhibited and energetic creativity. Each mark on the canvas is distinctive, intentional, expressive, dynamic, and brimming with profound emotions.

With a sponge saturated in diluted color, I delicately maneuver the paint across the paper in sync with music that mirrors my emotional state. The shift to brushwork occurs gradually, as I carefully select colors that complement each other, often leaning towards harmonious analogous color schemes featuring three or four shades. Working primarily with watercolor, gouache, and crayon on high-quality cotton rag archival paper, my aim is to establish and uphold color cohesion, drawing inspiration from the music to guide the intuitive flow of my artistic gestures. Picture the graceful motions of a conductor's baton dancing across the canvas, envision the fluidity of chiffon fabric trailing behind a skilled figure skater, or envision the weightless elegance of Rudolf Nureyev executing a flawless Grand Jete.

Over the years, I have drawn inspiration from the diverse techniques of several renowned artists. Van Gogh's striking and passionate paint application, Rembrandt's masterful play of light and shadow, Cezanne's skillful manipulation of warm and cool hues for spatial depth, Daumier's free-flowing and emotive lines, Diebenkorn's intricate layering in dynamic compositions, Francis Bacon's bold distortion of form, Mondrian's precise lines and color harmonies, and Picasso's fearless innovation in blending abstraction with recognizable subjects have all left a lasting impact on my artistic approach.

My work provides a captivating visual journey through the flowing movement of rhythms, melodies, and crescendos. The intricate composition of dancing lines not only engages but also expertly directs the viewer's eye across and inside the seemingly multi-dimensional expanse, offering a truly immersive artistic experience.