Library Vibes, 2021

Visual Music

You can’t see music although artists have tried to show it. if I were to try to describe this busker’s music, it would talk of warm, rich colours, fusions of mellow browns and golds. The colours are rich and deep, like the music from the saxaphone. The musician was deep in thought, focusing on making glorious sounds come out of the belly of the Golden Horn. Although it may have been silver, I can’t remember, and the photo is ambiguous. I’m choosing gold because it suits the sounds and my memory of the scene.

Busker by Central Library

A typical street scene with a busker and Manchester’s Central library as the backdrop. Two women wander along, they would have been referred to as “old biddies”, in the callow term from my youth. Not that I would use that term now. I suspect they were friends or an elderly mother and her middle aged daughter, and, oblivious to the melody, they pass by deep in conversation. Behind them, a parent attends to a distressed infant in a buggy. The memorial and background are created as passing thoughts. The main focus of this painting is the man with the horn.

The Air of Love

On a crisp October afternoon, the sun is low but the scene is warm. The colours of the music seep into the scene, bringing warmth to the walls and pavement. The buskers face is dark and hard to make out, but his attitude is one of intense concentration and reflection on the sounds he is creating. His large hands tenderly holding the musical instrument in a manner born of hours of practice. A familiarity that fosters a deep love for his art and a connection that spills over into the sounds he’s creating.

The library vibes fill Saint Peter's Square and set the mood for all who pass by