​               “Music is heard, but seldom seen, except by musicians’
                                                 Ralph Ellison, ‘The Invisible Man’
 
 Music is my first love, my greatest joy and the inner source of all my work.
 
 I am currently working on ‘Songs”, a visual journey through musical forms and expressions  with no pre-determined destination.
 
‘             A Song of Many Colours’ is a Prelude to this Opus.
 
   It is a Medley of styles and Media, of Harmony, Dissonance and Syncopation in a blend of new and not previously shown works.
 
                    For a ‘Da Capo’, I return a couple of the favourites in my repertoire to the limelight.

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   Discussing the influence of Sacred    Geometry on the "Alpha" and  "Omega'  series with Ronald Williams, www.ronaldwilliamsartist.com, after he raised the topic. 

   The series consists of four square canvases, the central motif of each was, at first, enclosed within a circle, but I deliberately shattered the geometric principles, cutting across and reaching beyond, dissolving and distorting the boundaries.

   Sacred Geometry seeks to capture and hold energy in static, symmetric forms.
But Energy, by its very nature, is a constantly moving, asymmetric  force, which can be channeled, but not held down.
Once it stops moving, it is no more.

 "Alpha" and "Omega"   breach the  boundaries. 

 "How Can We Know the Dancer from the Dance?" and "There is Only the Dance"
  ignore them completely in a joyful 'Brekaway'. 

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     “How Can We Know The Dancer From The Dance.”                  "There is Only the Dance." 
                                                                                                                         T. S. Eliot   
            “O body swayed to music
             O brightening glance,
            How can we know the dancer from the dance?”
                                                     Yeats                                                                          
​
          "Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise, that I dance like I've got diamonds at the meeting of my thighs?"
​
                                                                                                                                                       'And Still I Rise' Maia Angelou                       

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Oil on Canvas.2017.
 
“In de Minor”, an Original DeFosto composition, was the 2015 Panorama tune of choice for the ‘Renegades’ Steel Orchestra. This painting, ‘In De Minor’, was initiated, but not resolved or named until I experienced the final version of the tune on the Savannah stage in the witching hour of Carnival Sunday.
  In that darkest hour before dawn Renegades, the last of 12 bands, took to the stage.
All Stars and Phase II had finished  performing and their players were liming off stage, the stands were still full, in spite of the hour, and there was a steady noise of people and trucks and traces of DJ music.
Until Duvonne Stewart, the arranger, gave the count, the crowds fell silent and the band struck up the powerful intro from ‘Toccata and Fugue in D Minor’ (J.S.Bach), followed by one of the greatest Panorama arrangements ever to be heard. The music stayed with me and became colour form and structure, but the painting is not attempting to illustrate one tune, it is a manifestation of the life force of the music and is open to personal interpretation. ‘Crescendo’, also inspired by this arrangement, is a companion piece to ‘In De Minor’.”
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​ Right: 'The Sacred And The Profane"  # 1 and #2.
​ Oil on Canvas. 2016. Series: 'Dragondance'.  

​

This young man seems to be listening to 'In de Minor'.

"Resting Witchface".

With these small works on canvas I have returned to the media of my Pre-Art School youth: oil pastels, graphite and watercolour.
Here I combine them on canvas, adding the use of  palette knife , brush , resist methods and just a touch of gold, to achieve a playful, jewel-like glow.
Available as original works on the Store page of  this site or direectly from the Sten Art Studio. 1 246 2353828.
​You can also find them as Artprints. Framed Prints and more at www.redbubble.com/people/liliansten 

"Point and Counterpoint".

"Colour, which is vibration, just like music, is able to attain what is most universal,
​ yet, at the same time, most elusive in nature: its inner force."
                                                                                    Paul Gaugin.

​Counterpoint. # 1/ 2/ 3.Watercolour on Paper.

  ‘Counterpoint’, in music, is the relationship between voices that are harmonically interdependent, yet independent in rhythm and contour.

'Allegro' and 'Andante' are the first two movements in a Visual Sonata , a work in progress.

Gallery Overview.

Many ​thanks to Kelly Gibson and her team, Alicia Alleyne, Ronald Williams and Evan Avery, who edited, framed and hung the show.

​Opening Reception. March 6th 2020.

 Thanks to The Frame and Art Gallery, George Nicholson, Lena Nicholson, Belinda Nicholson                  and Marissa Thomas, who together created a memorable culinary experience!  
            Thanks to the Classic Reggae and Soca Artistes for the Background Music. 
            Thanks also to the many old and new friends who came to celebrate with us!

        

​                                                         lilian.sten@gmail.com  
           
                                                Sten Print-on-Demand Original Design:
                                                      http://www.redbubble.com/people/liliansten