Joshua Saville

   Music for me has always been incredibly important.  I can still remember the stress that having to pick the instrument I wanted to play in the school band caused me when I was in third grade.  It was a nearly impossible decision since each instrument had something unique to offer.  This could be why over the course of my schooling I have learned to play seven instruments proficiently.  Using this as a stepping off point I wanted to use this series of paintings to explore similarities of music and art.  The way the musicians manipulate their instrument to communicate something to a listener in a nonverbal way, much the way an artist uses his chosen media to convey a concept to a viewer.  The series, named Etude after a style of musical composition, used to exercise techniques and show the skill of the performer, is split into four triptychs, each set featuring a close up of one of the instruments I have spent the most time playing.  The color schemes, paint application, and lighting were inspired by the mood, tempo, and rhythms of a piece of music heavily featuring the instrument shown.  The symbols overlaid are fingering charts, the keys, valves, and other components that the musician would use to produce the music.