The Musical Connection in My Paintings
On Fractality – cast in the form of a children’s story
My unique printmaking technique
A collaborative, multimedia project inspired by the altars of the Renaissance and the Baroque, which can be seen as a representation of the journey of the human soul.
A collection of seven paintings enveloped in a representation of the All-Seeing Eye of God, forming my altar dedicated to Archangel Michael.
My third altar is a specially arranged collection of paintings relating to the invisible Presence of God in our human lives – in our thoughts, our feelings and our intentions.
Videos with my artworks created by collaborators.
Poetry in English – a short collection
Poetry in Bulgarian – a short collection
See all paintings created using the music of a particular composer.
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Browse all artworks of a given type in alphabetical order (text format, with links to images).
Quick links to oil painting collections in approximate chronological order – see also the Artworks menu and the Oil Paintings page.
1999-2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015-2016, 2017-2018, 2019, 2020-2021, 2022, 2023.
Around 1322 the French composer, poet and mathematician Philippe de Vitry published his treatise Ars Nova (A New Art), in which he outlined the way for a new musical style that not only defined the music of his time, but also opened the way for a new music, a "musica nova", that would last and develop until this very day. The treatise by Philippe de Vitry contained many innovations, not least of which was a whole new rhythmic system based on solving certain mathematical, algebraic equations, and, what Philippe de Vitry called "harmonic numbers". Music, of course, is built on the harmony of numbers, and indeed this is how the Greek philosopher Pythagoras of the 6th century B.C. discovered it. For Pythagoras this harmony of numbers and their interrelationships was found in "the Music of the Spheres" – a Universal Music.
In my paintings, I attempt to go beyond the realm of the purely visual to include something of this great, eternal Music of the Universe, which is always around us, permeates everything and sounds in our hearts and minds. This Universal Music finds its unique, particular expression in the works of the great composers from all ages – from the Renaissance, to the High Baroque, the Classical era, right up to modern times. Composers such as Messiaen, Hindemith, Reger and Shostakovich, as well as many others, were blessed to be inspired by this Music. In weaving the works of these composers into my paintings I try to achieve an organic unity of ideas, tones, colours, lines and shapes, so that when one looks at a certain painting one is able to feel, and also to accept, the two artistic principles – music and visual art – as one, or rather, to be able to inwardly "see" the music and to "hear" the forms and colours.
Following the tradition of the Ars Nova, which combined the sacred and the profane often in a single work, my paintings combine a mixture of different themes and ideas, ranging from "Meditations on the Holy Trinity" (after Messiaen's organ works by the same name) to "Madrigal" (originally on Monteverdi's madrigals, but finished on Legrenzi's sacred works). One may see that in some of the paintings there are musical instruments, and indeed, I was always fascinated by the beauty of the different musical instruments – for me they already bring with themselves something of the magic of music itself. Yet even for the works with musical instruments, the most important thing is the composition and the colours, since they carry the main idea as well as the hidden messages, which are the collaborated ideas between the musical composition and the artistic, the visual expression.
In this sense, my paintings are not easily understood, and they need to be looked at for a long time, meditated upon and really absorbed by the viewer. In this way the person looking at a painting would be able to penetrate into the particular ideas; once understood, he/she would be able to accept the work in its true light and would be able to deeply enjoy and appreciate it. But, at the same time, I believe that these paintings are approachable to all people – not merely for the learned or the wise – because beauty is something that lights up in the souls of all people, and is therefore approachable by all. I therefore hope that everyone can enjoy and find something for themselves in these works, and can realise for themselves the meaning of "A New Art" – "Musica Nova".
Around 1322 the French composer, poet and mathematician Philippe de Vitry published his treatise Ars Nova (A New Art), in which he outlined the way for a new musical style that not only defined the music of his time, but also opened the way for a new music, a "musica nova", that would last and develop until this very day. The treatise by Philippe de Vitry contained many innovations, not least of which was a whole new rhythmic system based on solving certain mathematical, algebraic equations, and, what Philippe de Vitry called "harmonic numbers". Music, of course, is built on the harmony of numbers, and indeed this is how the Greek philosopher Pythagoras of the 6th century B.C. discovered it. For Pythagoras this harmony of numbers and their interrelationships was found in "the Music of the Spheres" – a Universal Music.
In my paintings, I attempt to go beyond the realm of the purely visual to include ... read more