Music

Song - 11 x 14
Oil on Canvas Panel
Copyright 2011 Dena McMurdie

Just the other day I was sitting in church with my little family, my 18 month old baby on my lap. When the choir got up to sing a musical number, my baby started to sway in time to the music. Before long, she began to sing as well. I found it quite darling, and got my husband's attention so that he could enjoy the moment with me. What I didn't know was that several other people were enjoying our moment too. We got multiple comments from people that were sitting near us about how adorable our baby was.

I have always loved music. I took several years of piano lessons while I was growing up and even though I don't play very well, I do enjoy playing. Pulling sensitive and emotional notes from a piano is a difficult yet rewarding thing to accomplish.

Music is an interesting thing. It has the power to move people and to touch their hearts and minds in a way that just isn't possible in any other method. Have you ever been inspired by a song? Have you ever heard a piece of music that made you want to be a better person? I have. There are times when I get caught up in the feeling of the song and I start to sway without knowing it. Sometimes I close my eyes and let the music wash over me, pulling me to a better place. It is always a little sad when the song ends and I have to come back to reality.

A few years ago, I was listening to the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. If you have never listened to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, you should. Words fail me when I try to describe that choir. As I listened to the rise and fall of the harmonized voices of the large choir, I felt the desire to somehow paint the song they were singing. I didn't know if it were possible, but I wanted to try. The abstract painting above, "Song" is the product. I don't often create abstract artwork, but every now and then, an abstract concept is the perfect medium to express my message.