Ab minor - Variation 5 — Watercolor on Paper by Arnaud Quercy

About This Artwork

This work translates the Ab minor triad into visual form through chromesthetic mapping, where musical pitches correspond to specific colors. Part of the Synesthetic Explorations collection, the piece examines how harmonic relationships can be expressed through watercolor's fluid properties.

Yellow-green tones dominate the composition, occupying the upper portion with silver and lightgray creating substantial presence throughout. Violet hues appear in multiple variations, from dusty mauve to steel gray, establishing the harmonic foundation. Ochre and peru provide warm accents, while dark brown, gray, and very dark purple create precise focal points. The watercolor technique allows colors to blend and separate naturally, creating both defined geometric forms and soft transitions that mirror the chord's acoustic properties.

The work measures 16.0 × 24.0 cm on paper, signed bottom right with certificate of authenticity number 20240718-0172. The composition maps eight distinct pitches from Ab2 to B6, with the resolved voicing achieving a 75% match to the target Ab minor chord structure. Three accent colors provide chromatic tension points, while the dominant color families establish the harmonic core through violet and yellow-green relationships.