Auditus: An Invitation to Hear What Lies Beneath

Auditus (40"x40")

When I titled this piece *Auditus*, it wasn't just a word chosen for its elegance; it was a distillation of an entire epoch of my life, a deep, resonant hum that guided my hand across the canvas. *Auditus*, for me, is more than simply 'hearing' in the physical sense. It is the profound act of listening – to the unseen, the unspoken, the inner reverberations of the soul, and the subtle murmurs of the world around me. It's about tuning into frequencies beyond the ordinary.

When I first laid down those broad, inky black strokes, on the left and spanning across the lower edge, I wasn't just applying paint. I was feeling the gravity of silence, the initial void before any sound emerges, or perhaps the weighty hum of an unspoken truth. It was a grounding, a deliberate mark of presence, like the deep bass note that anchors a symphony. Over this foundation, I allowed the greys and whites to wash in, softly at first, then building in layers. As I blended these cool tones, I felt as though I was capturing the ambient noise of existence – the quiet drift of thoughts, the indistinct murmurs of a distant city, the gentle sigh of the wind. They create a kind of atmospheric haze, a space where sounds can either get lost or find their clarity.

Then came the deep, rich greens, weaving through the mid-section, some dark and contemplative, others glowing with an almost underwater luminosity. With these hues, I delved into the introspection that true listening demands. It was like plumbing the depths of a quiet forest, where every rustle and drip tells a story. I thought about the sounds of nature, the deep, ancient rhythms that underpin everything. The vivid, almost minty green curve that sweeps across the upper half was a moment of sudden clarity, a distinct melody cutting through the background. It was a fleeting, beautiful sound – perhaps a forgotten tune, or a sudden realization that blossoms in the mind.

The small bursts of red, sharp and angular in places, then softened into a round outline, were like unexpected accents in a composition. They were the sudden crescendos, the sharp intakes of breath, the emotional spikes that punctuate our experiences. They represent the moments when a sound, or a truth, hits with undeniable force. And then, there are those delicate, golden scribbles, almost like ancient script or whispered words, scattered across the mid-right. When I inscribed these, I was thinking of the unheard narratives, the wisdom passed down through generations, or the silent conversations we have with ourselves. They are the visual manifestation of whispers, of secrets, of the fragile frequencies that often go unnoticed but hold immense meaning. The enclosed red shape with a black outline felt like an ear, or perhaps the iris of an eye, focusing intently, drawing in every delicate vibration.

Every layer, every scraped-back surface, every drip that I let fall, tells a story of building and unbuilding, of sounds accumulating and then fading, leaving echoes. *Auditus* is not just a painting you look at; it's a painting I hope you *listen* to. It's an invitation to explore your own internal landscape of sound and silence, to hear what lies beneath the surface, just as I endeavored to capture that profound inner listening on this canvas. It’s the visual echo of what it means to truly pay attention.