"Musicians" - Hugh Miles

Acrylic on watercolor paper
Page Size: 30 x 22 in.
Signed, lower right in pen: "by Hugh Miles"
 
This monochrome expressionist painting captures the raw energy of a live performance through minimalist silhouettes, lively gestures, and dynamic textures. Executed in stark black against a natural white paper background, the piece features six stylized figures, rendered as black silhouettes. Included in the scene is a singer, a guitarists, and a percussionist, and dancers whose elongated forms seem to sway and vibrate with the rhythm of the music. A large, solid black sun or moon floats at the top of the top of the composition, while a flurry of splattered ink and quick, gestural brushstrokes in the foreground creates a sense of an outdoor concert. Miles’s use of high-contrast silhouettes strips the scene down to its essential movement, evoking the soulful, improvisational spirit of a jazz or folk ensemble under a wide, open sky.
 
This acrylic on watercolor paper painting is unframed. It ships flat in a sturdy, corrugated cardboard portfolio. We do not bend, roll, or fold works on paper.