The Music in His Colours🔊

Once upon a time, in the quaint little town of Keswick nestled against the rolling hills of Lake District, England, there lived a prodigious painter named Ethan. Ethan was different from the others. He didn't seem to possess the typical understanding of colours like other artists. Ethan was a Synesthete, someone who could hear colours and see sounds, a rare neurological condition known as synesthesia. His condition reflected in his works of art making them uniquely marvellous. Colourful strokes of sound waves resonated on his canvas, beating the silence in the onlooker’s eyes. His power of synesthesia was not just his uniqueness but also his struggle. 'The Accidental Artist', as titled by his admirers, was originally a pianist.

Ethan spent his days engrossed in the whirl of colours his piano cast and his nights translating that orchestra onto his canvas. His reluctance to part with any of his creations led him to live in a house full of trippy canvases, each narrating its unique melody. His art and music had always been his escape, his avenue to articulate the beautiful chaos that was his perception.

Ethan’s journey from a pianist to a painter was an unexpected accident. A concert mishap had lead him to lose three fingers of his right hand. What seemed a catastrophic event at that time gradually unfolded into the realm of colours that Ethan's palette now held. The accident gave a different direction to his life and a unique dimension to his art. He soon discovered that the music that he couldn’t express through his fingers anymore took form when he held the brushes.

One routine day, news broke that the 'Queen's Art Exhibition' was going to be held in Keswick attracting artists from all over the globe. Excited yet nervous, Ethan decided to submit one of his works, a painting that held the beautiful symphony of Beethoven’s Sonata. His art piece was 'Moonlight Colours', an abstract painting of mellow blues, silvers and purples reforming the enchanting 'Moonlight Sonata'. Excitement boiled in the town as the day of the exhibition arrived. Artists from various corners of the world displayed their masterpieces.

However, the piece that truly caught the attention was Ethan's 'Moonlight Colours'. Awestruck and fascinated, people surrounded Ethan's painting, enticed by the enchanting blend of colours representing the divine symphony. Even those unfamiliar with Beethoven’s Sonata claimed to hear fragments of the music when looking at the painting. The judges, recognising the immense talent and uniqueness, unanimously awarded Ethan the first prize. When asked about his motivation, with a glint of gratitude in his eyes, Ethan simply said, 'I paint the music I no longer play.'

Ethan's extraordinary journey from a pianist to an extraordinary painter despite all odds goes on to show that sometimes, life’s harsh blows only serve to unveil a path that leads to one’s true destiny. The music that he once played on his piano could now be heard through his vivid paintings. What began as a tragic accident, climaxed as a triumph in the world of art.