A Pattern So Grand And Complex & Peripheral Vision

These are small-scale works that came out of a project initiated by taping off a large piece of watercolour paper into 8 rectangles and applying wet-on-wet watercolour. Sometimes I applied this first, at other times I painted it afterwards. After that, it was down to my stream of consciousness approach using shapes, patterns and zentangle-like glyphs. ‘A Pattern so Grand and Complex’ comes from the Rush song, ‘Natural Science’ and is particularly influenced by the first movement, ‘Tidal Pools’. The whelk-like shapes seemed to evoke this vibe, and superimposing them on the surreal bands behind added the suggestion of patterns or algorithms that lie beneath the surface of what is immediately apparent. ‘Peripheral Vision’ contains selected lyrics from a song I wrote called ‘Chiaroscuro’. It also alludes to a style of writing I aspire to when penning mystery or horror tales. To me, something seen out of the corner of your eye, or a suggestion of something disquieting is always more powerful than a full, on-the-nose representation of something that is disturbing.

That’s what I poured into these works, but what did you see?