A traditional New Orleans marching band can fire off as much joy and exaltation as any art form I know.
A task I set for myself was to try to bring some of it indoors and hang it on the wall. The musicians don't cavort; mostly they walk and play their instruments. Therefore I reasoned that the only way I could convey the excitement of the music was through the people who were affected by it and expressed it with movement.
My first version of this canvas ("Red Wing") depended entirely upon two dancers and a strutter to objectify the infectious rhythms of the procession. The center of the picture had only walking musicians.
However, I searched through photographs of parades and found a shot of a tenor man who was doing a little more than marching. His head was tilted over, one shoulder was dropped, and his knees bent a little more than the others', causing him to dip slightly; his hip, at the same time, swung ever so subtly to one side. It was just enough.
I had to employ some knowledge of drawing in order to bring the figure more into profile; the photo was too frontal.
Now there is a bit of a swing in the step.
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