# Arosh > Arosh is a young artist, violinist and pianist from Scotland with a deep interest in Maths. See his drawings and paintings, hear his recordings, read his notes. Arosh is an artist and musician from Scotland. He draws and paints, plays the violin and the piano, and spends a lot of his spare time on Maths — especially mental arithmetic and algebra. This site collects his artwork, his recordings, and the problems he has been thinking about. Arosh is 12 years old, based in Scotland, and currently in S2 at secondary school. He works in graphite, charcoal, ink, acrylic and watercolour; plays violin and piano; and writes up Maths, mostly mental arithmetic and algebra. Note on the recordings: audio files cannot be read by crawlers, so every recording on this site is published with a written programme note describing the piece and the performance. Those notes are the authoritative description of what is in each audio file. ## Artwork - [Still Life with Lamp](https://www.arosh.name/artwork/still-life-with-lamp/): Graphite and charcoal on paper, 2025. A study of the lamp on the corner of the desk, drawn over three evenings. The interest here is the fall-off: the lamp throws a hard edge… - [Spider-Man Pose](https://www.arosh.name/artwork/spider-man-pose/): Graphite and ink on paper, 2026. A crouch, weight on one hand, the other arm cocked back — the pose Spider-Man lands in. Drawn from below, so the near knee comes towards… - [Harbour at Dusk](https://www.arosh.name/artwork/harbour-at-dusk/): Acrylic on canvas board, 2025. Painted from sketches made on the quay in late summer, when the sky sits lower than the water and the masts read as dark verticals against… - [City in Rain](https://www.arosh.name/artwork/city-in-rain/): Watercolour on cold-pressed paper, 2026. Wet-into-wet for the whole upper half, then left alone entirely until dry — the reflections on the pavement are what the paper did on its… - [Study of Hands](https://www.arosh.name/artwork/study-of-hands/): Graphite on cartridge paper, 2024. Six studies on one sheet, most of them of a bow hold — which is a convenient subject when you spend an hour a day looking at your own right… - [Portrait in Graphite](https://www.arosh.name/artwork/portrait-in-graphite/): Graphite on toned paper, with white chalk, 2024. Drawn on grey paper so that the mid-tone is given rather than made, which leaves graphite to handle the shadows and chalk to handle the… ## Music - [Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2](https://www.arosh.name/music/chopin-nocturne-op9-no2/): by Frédéric Chopin, performed on piano (0:10). Chopin published the Op. 9 nocturnes in 1832, when he was twenty-one. The second is the one everybody knows: a single long melody over a… - [Partita No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006 — Preludio](https://www.arosh.name/music/bach-partita-no3-preludio/): by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed on violin (0:08). The Preludio is unbroken semiquavers from the first bar to the last, with no rest anywhere for the right arm. Bach thought well enough of… - [Étude No. 2 in C major](https://www.arosh.name/music/kreutzer-etude-no2/): by Rodolphe Kreutzer, performed on violin (0:09). Kreutzer's forty-two studies have been the standard technical diet for violinists for two hundred years, and the second is the one every… ## Mathematics - [Factorising quadratic equations](https://www.arosh.name/maths/factorising-quadratic-equations/): How to factorise a quadratic when the leading coefficient is 1, how the AC method handles the case when it is not, and a short proof of why splitting the middle term always works. (2026-08-03) - [The Trachtenberg speed method](https://www.arosh.name/maths/trachtenberg-speed-method/): Multiplying by 11 and 12 in your head using Trachtenberg's rules — and the place-value argument that shows exactly why the rules work. (2026-07-20) ## About - [About Arosh](https://www.arosh.name/about/): biography, education, results and answers to common questions. **Who is Arosh?** Arosh is a 12-year-old artist, violinist and pianist from Scotland. He makes drawings and paintings, performs classical repertoire on violin and piano, and writes up Maths problems he has been working on. **How old is Arosh and what year is he in?** Arosh is 12 and is in S2 at secondary school in Scotland. His school is not named on this site. **What instruments does Arosh play?** Arosh plays the violin and the piano. Recordings of both are available on the music page of this site, each with a short programme note about the piece. **What kind of artwork does Arosh make?** Arosh works mainly in drawing and painting. Each piece on the artwork page lists its medium, year and dimensions, along with a short note about how it was made. **What areas of mathematics is Arosh interested in?** Arosh is most interested in mental arithmetic and algebra — speed-arithmetic systems such as the Trachtenberg method, and factorising quadratic equations. His written-up notes are published on the Maths page of this site. **How can I get in touch with Arosh?** Enquiries can be sent by email to hello@arosh.name. The inbox is monitored by a parent. ## Optional - [Full text of every page](https://www.arosh.name/llms-full.txt): the complete contents of this site as Markdown, in one file. - [RSS feed](https://www.arosh.name/rss.xml): new artwork and new mathematics notes. - [Sitemap](https://www.arosh.name/sitemap-index.xml) --- Contact: hello@arosh.name Canonical site: https://www.arosh.name