Visual Rhythm

Morning at Lake Mineral Wells, originally uploaded by Mark Nesmith.

The musician in me has always been in love with rhythm, and the artist in me always finds a way to tap along. I've been entranced by the visual rhythm of light bouncing through tree branches or tall grasses my whole life. My design and sculpture professor in college first pointed out to me that all of my work seems to have alot of interplay of musical ideas (I hadn't really thought of it back then.) One of my favorite spots at Lake Mineral Wells is the sidewalk along the causeway at the dam. There's a concrete barrier beside the sidewalk that holds back the water (which is over your head in the middle of the walk). I like to climb up on the retaining wall and get eye level and closeup views of the tall reeds that grow in thick bunches there. These reeds grow all along the shores of the lake, and this particular painting is a view through some of the tall grasses and across the water to the distant shore. I often like to balance the busy rhythms of the grasses with calmer stretches of silence (what would be a rest in music) like the sky and tree bank in the distance. Too much rhythm, like too much of anything, can overwhelm a composition in a hurry. A little contrast and balance can go a long way.