BOCCE BALL

OH, CHIQUITAS!

YOU CAN LEAVE YOUR
CASTANETS ON

THE SERENADE

THE THREE-CORNERED HAT

POSTCARDS FROM THE STUDIO 

"I did these paintings just after the "Flamenco Sketches." Spanish color still filled my brain. What a passionate culture. I was listening to two jazz recordings of the "Concierto de Aranjuez" by Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo. One was the contemplative sound of Jim Hall on guitar, Paul Desmond on sax and Chet Baker on trumpet. The other recording was the bullfight-bravado of Miles Davis with Gil Evans and orchestra.

I squeezed garnet reds, flashing golds, sizzling vermillion, cool emerald greens and a splash of blue for the shadows from my oil tubes. This palette of color burns hot against the deep flat velvety black gesso. I was trying to re-create the rich fabric of sounds: the snare drum of pageantry, the clear sonorous trumpet, the beckoning of  spicy castanets, the intricate fingering of the guitar strings, the rustling folds of fabric, the staccato of flamenco. The tempo and texture of Spanish life in music is dynamic, sensuous, provocative.

I think these paintings of juicy color and enticing composition tell the tale of the romantic versus the muscular. When the sun drops below the horizon at twilight, you may choose to pour yourself a full-bodied cab and savor the robust vitality of my Notes From Spain."

Embrace Beauty, KNight