Music Translation Painting: Translation No. 1 of Opening by Philip Glass

Translation No. 1 of “Opening” by Philip Glass

To create this piece, I immersed myself completely in the music—listening, reading the score, sketching, and even learning fragments on the piano to feel its rhythm and emotion firsthand. Though I’m a novice musician, this deep engagement helps me translate sound into color, texture, and movement.

This painting—layered in moody blues, soft greys, and filtered light—is my abstract interpretation of “Opening” by Philip Glass. Touches of gold leaf shimmer through the surface like distant light breaking through a fog, echoing the meditative, pulsing beauty of the composition.

Painted with both water-based and dry media on canvas, wood, or metal, each layer is intentional—built through emotional resonance and a tactile response to the music. This is more than a painting; it’s a visual performance, captured in stillness.