Jaw-Dropper

"Play, Paint, Pointe" © 2014 J Travis Duncan

When my wife and I prayed about me moving into the realm of art, we knew that whatever opportunities arose, I would need to be diligent in taking advantage of any and all of them. When a few friends, Nicole B. and Sarah H., as well as my wife Candace, saw the Applaud the Artist cover contest for the local newspaper, The Augusta Chronicle, they were very quick to encourage me to submit an entry. I didn't have any reason not to, but I had many reasons to give it a shot. Seriously, here I am, just starting out, and it never hurts to try even if you don't hit the target the first go round. So, I decided to start thinking about what I would paint and in what medium.

Being that the subject was Arts in Augusta, I knew that I could paint many things. The arts community here in the Augusta area is quite robust and is constantly expanding. It is definitely a wonderful time to be an artist or just someone who enjoys the arts. Being someone who loves to play music and paint, I knew two of the elements that I wanted to incorporate into the painting. Though my musical skills have been limited to the piano (which I have practically forgotten everything I learned many years ago) and the guitar, I felt that the Augusta Symphony needed a nice nod. That is why I decided to incorporate a cello into the painting. The cello is one of my favorite stringed instruments because I simply love the sounds that a skilled musician can coax out of it with just a bow. Yet this was only the first element that I wanted to use when deciding the composition.

The second was a set of pointe shoes. Why? Well, ballet is quite a beautiful art to watch. It's usually quite colorful and the dances are usually set to classical music, which reminded me again of symphonies. At this point (not pointe), I just had to have those pointe shoes in honor of the Augusta Ballet. There is an elegance to the dancers and the dance itself. Just like music, there is a lovely composition to be found in each performance.

The third, and final, element was a paintbrush. Considering that I am a painter and that the piece was of the visual type, I felt that the brush would be the perfect element to wrap up the piece. Augusta's Artist Row is a highlight for those who love paintings, sculptures, etc. For those who picked up Thursday's edition of The Augusta Chronicle, you might have read the interview they had with me about the piece. I truly love the arts and I see a beautiful cohesiveness when you bring them all about. Each one, in my own experience, has inspired the other. I paint to music. I get ideas to paint from seeing performances. The arts work together and are unified. In order to show this, I had the brush playing the cello while painting a ribbon of one of the pointe shoes. Finally, one of the ribbons is becoming a f-hole (sound hole) on the cello.

That's a very brief explanation of how I decided on the composition for "Play, Paint, Pointe". I would encourage everyone to head downtown and experience the many aspects of the arts that are in Augusta. We have a wonderful community that works together who would be thrilled to have each of you take part in or just enjoy what they have been working on.

As for "Play, Paint, Pointe", it was the winning entry in the 3rd Annual Applaud the Artist cover contest. To say that my jaw dropped when I heard the news would be lightly stating my reaction. It is still surreal to me. It has also taught me a great lesson: work diligently, keep pursuing all opportunities, and above all, trust God with the outcome, no matter if it is the one you desired or not. To see the article of the piece and a brief interview with me, click here.

The Art of J Travis Duncan