Harmony

2020

$A cleanly designed spiral of pastel oranges, greens, blues, and purples terminates in its center with successive spirals of blue eyes. At the bottom, fractalized plants bearing both eyes and flowers of jasmine, while to the left sits a ruffled quetzal, its plumage a vibrant turquoise.$

Technique

I wanted something more classically psychedelic for this one, even 60’s esque. My original concept was pretty separate from this—the oldest element is the bird, which I had originally painted to be a shoulder companion for a woman in a Pleiades-esque starscape. That piece didn’t work out, though, and this is what came out of that process.

The bird (a quetzal) was painted from reference, though I made its character more one of being disturbed, as though this is really its moment and the viewer isn’t meant to be here. The other eyes were designed to be more curious, with the plants and the spiral designs meant to dig into the surreality of pyschedelic art more than the spirituality.

I painted most of these elements just the once, before cutting and layering them into fractal designs. I spent a while getting the rainbow colors correct, though I’m still arguably happiest with the shades of green and purple more than I am with the central orange. Regardless, I’ve never been disappointed with myself for painting with rainbows!