Piers Bateman
Somewhere, some time ago, I crossed that indistinct line from being a young emerging painter to being an established artist. I sometimes look back at my work and try to determine where certain developments came from and whether I have changed direction to any marked extent in either my painting or my perceptions. My conclusion in this regard is that, although as a painter I would expect to develop my painting skills with time, the art element is the instinctive dimension that remains constant and is governed by absolute rules, much the same way music is. Intellectual rules can be instinctively bent or broken, but never the less remain as absolutes.
I have often used the structure of music to help explain the nature of “art” in painting because music seems to be more easily understood by people than painting, especially the abstract sides of painting. However, when one considers such terms as harmony, balance, tone, mood and composition we find that they are applicable to both music and painting; and indeed can be used in other art forms, including wine making!
The key component that sets painting apart from music is of course colour, but when colour is equated with pitch the analogy remains valid. The natural laws governing musical sounds are very easily understood mathematically; obeying simple rules of harmony and measured by the frequency of vibration. Even though these rules are absolute and without them sound will not be music, musicians enjoy complete freedom of expression in what must be one of the most abstract art forms.
Hence, my art is linked to rhythm – found around me.