Soundtrack: “Serenity ” ( O Magnum Mysterium ) by Ola Gjeilo
The latest in my music series is a larger version of the painting inspired by Serenity (O Magnum Mysterium), a song by Ola Gjeilo that feels ethereal and hopeful. Watercolor and copper leaf on board.
30″ x 40″ Watercolor by Jamie Hansen
Soundtrack: “Serenity ” ( O Magnum Mysterium ) by Ola Gjeilo
What would happen if I let the water lead the way? What would it do if I considered my materials and then let them take over? How would they react if I found the most interesting pigments I could – the ones that blended beautifully, the ones that granulated, and the ones that broke apart into several colors on the page – and I set them loose across the biggest panels I could fit in my studio?
24″ x 36″ Watercolor by Jamie Hansen
Soundtrack: “Gloria” from Sunrise Mass by Ola Gjeilo
I painted this watercolor to Ola Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass. This piece evokes Sunrise (Gloria) through the rich and shimmery gold leaf accents on nebulous purple washes.
12″ x 12″ Watercolor by Jamie Hansen
Soundtrack: “Serenity ” ( O Magnum Mysterium ) by Ola Gjeilo
O Magnum Mysterium is a Latin text describing the wonderment of the animals as they gaze on Christ. It translates to “O great mystery.” I created this art as a response to Ola Gjeilo’s Serenity (O Magnum Mysterium.) It is elegantly ethereal and mysterious.
12″ x 12″ Watercolor by Jamie Hansen
Soundtrack: “Precarious” by Sarah Perske
24″ x 36″ Watercolor by Jamie Hansen
The water decides what is consequential. I reply with feeble attempts to control the humidity in my space, the temperature, to add water where needed, But in the end, we don’t decide the outcome. And that is perhaps the most miraculous part of the watercolor medium. It is alive, unpredictable, and occasionally precarious.
This painting is part of a collaboration with Nebula Ensemble, an award winning experimental music group in Colorado. The ensemble director paired me with composer, classical guitarist, vocalist, and singer-songwriter Sarah Perske. We met over zoom and discussed the creative processes.
Sarah suggested that we might start the work together with a “sound sketch.” I created a rough beginning in pale blue. The watercolor art took shape in subsequent layers, responding to Sarah’s musical replies. We passed musical sketches and watercolor sketches over Dropbox folders, and I recorded each painting session as the art took shape.
Sarah’s work aims to expand the boundaries of music-making through the integration of performance art and cross-disciplinary collaboration. She recalls: “As I wrote the music, I tried to match my composing process to Jamie’s watercolor process: allowing “accidents” to re-shape the direction of the work, and using improvisation to generate much of the musical material. The end result is a work that comments on the nature of the creative process while inviting the audience to participate in that experience.”
Soundtrack: Precarious” by Nebula Ensemble’s composer Sarah Perske.
24″ x 36″ watercolor on board. This painting is part of a collaboration with Nebula Ensemble, an award winning experimental music group in Colorado. Created in collaboration with composer Sarah Perske.
24″ x 36″ Watercolor by Jamie Hansen
Soundtrack: “The Lake Isle” by Ola Gjeilo
This painting is about “The Lake Isle” by Ola Gjeilo. The sweeping and lilting lyrics are “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by William Butler Yeats. The flecks of vibrant purple glint from the ocean-aqua field like tiny mysteries.
12″ x 12″ Watercolor by Jamie Hansen
Soundtrack: Ola Gjello’s “Dark Night of the Soul.”
Inspired by Ola Gjelo’s “Dark Night of the Soul.” This art is real. Your feelings are real. The luminous copper dawn is also real.
24″ x 30″ Watercolor by Jamie Hansen
