Vickyle Payton

I wonder, do you sense what I hear?

From five generations of musical artists, my earliest memories are twirling to my mother at the piano
while my father bounced across the violin with a Mendelssohn piece; singing in four part harmony
around summer campfires; spontaneous sing-alongs and informal concerts at every family reunion..

Novelist Sarah Desson writes, “Music is the great uniter. An incredible force. Something that people who differ on everything and anything else can have in common.” Music often layers in the deepest meaning of our emotions. Like the visual arts.

I created this work listening to treasured pieces of Ravel, Elgar, Debussy and Cole Porter and wondered if my imagination and a brush full of watercolor could capture the universal atmosphere of the pieces.

Reflecting brought a nudge to gesso pages of an old Ragtime book of piano pieces which, in turn,
brought a heartfelt nod to a favorite Aunt Jean, the Ragtime Queen.