Watercolor Study in D Major No. 3 — Watercolor on Paper by Arnaud Quercy

About This Artwork

Watercolor Study in D Major No. 3 maps a piano étude onto paper using color as its primary language. Arnaud Quercy assigns each note of the D Major triad — D1, D2, F#2, F#3, F#4, D5, A5 — a specific color range, translating the ascending chord into a visual structure. The work belongs to the D Major series within the Synesthetic Explorations collection, which converts musical structures into color relationships on paper.

Three color groups organize the surface. Orange tones, ranging from warm russet to deeper burnt shades, fill the largest area and anchor the right side of the composition — visible in the image as a broad curved form outlined in black. Yellow-orange tones, appearing as warm beige and sandy neutrals, spread across the remaining ground and the rectangular form at center-left. Green, in two distinct teal and dark sage tones, occupies a substantial vertical band where the rectangle meets the orange form. Black ink outlines define the geometric shapes — a rounded arc, a rectangle, and a thin vertical line — giving the composition its structural clarity. Very dark red and a muted yellow-green appear as accent tones within the ink work, adding depth to the contours without disrupting the three-color logic of the triad.

The work measures 30 × 21 cm on paper and weighs 0.1 kg. It was completed on July 13, 2026, at Quercy's Rue du Dragon studio in Paris. The certificate number is 20260713-0136. The work was shown at the Solabi Vare exhibition at Art Quam Anima, Paris, and was acquired on July 22, 2026. It is catalogued as AQC1084 within the artist's catalogue raisonné.