My One and Only Attempt at Op Art

[Hermes2020]

When I was a post grad student I found a discarded spokeless bicycle wheel on campus. I took it home and mounted it on a 910 x 1220mm primed board. I painted sharply defined stripes in complementary colours on the board with Winsor & Newton oils, then strung nylon sash cord through the rim. I painted the cord with pigmented polyester resin. There is an interesting moving optical effect when one walks past the painting, because of the relative movement of the cords in front of the background stripes. I've had many offers, but I still have it.

 

[Iain]

This is a cool piece. I love the vibrancy of the complimentary colours.

 

[Hermes2020]

Thanks, Iain. I suppose it is totally unlike my recent sombre concrete efforts.

 

[Iain]

Well, different materials, but it has the sculptural quality of the later pieces. And the quality, borne of meticulous planning...

 

[Hermes2020]

Well, different materials, but it has the sculptural quality of the later pieces. And the quality, borne of meticulous planning...

 

[Triduana]

I love this! Good and bold and I love the contrasting colours.

 

[laf.art]

This is a Wow piece. How long did it take you to paint? Those straight lines would have totally defeated me haha

 

[Artyczar]

Very bold. Almost op art, but it has a modern art vibe too, just with op art colors maybe. It happens to remind me of a bass drum head, so I have a special attraction to it. I love it.

 

[joe1It]

very powerful

 

[Hermes2020]

Thank you for your kind comments, everyone.

 

[Hermes2020]

This is a Wow piece. How long did it take you to paint? Those straight lines would have totally defeated me haha

They were of course painted freehand. Only joking! Masking tape is your friend when you paint stripes.

 

[Iain]

Using brown packing tape bleeds through and leaves an interesting edge to the lines.

 

[Donna T]

Incredible! It's bold and bright and a good thing you never sold it!

 

[Hermes2020]

Using brown packing tape bleeds through and leaves an interesting edge to the lines.

I will try that some time, but in this one I wanted razor-sharp edges.

 

[fedetony]

Looks great...

 

[Queen Bee]

Great piece!

 

[john]

Yeah, a wow piece. Top notch art. IMO. (Do we always have to say IMO when we say something like that?)

 

[Terri]

So sharp and bold! Hard to take my eyes off of it. I would love the experience of seeing it in person to observe the moving optical effect- how cool is that?

I love that you have had offers but it stays with you. ❤

Excellent work!

 

[stlukesguild]

I had several rather well-known Op Artists among my art school professors. Even now, I have a friend/mentor who works in a manner that might be defined as Op Art. His works play with shaped panels and physical forms that enter into the sculptural realm. Still, I can't say I have ever made a work of Op Art myself. I quite like your painting, by the way. Having said that, I certainly learned a good deal about color from these artists... and may even have been further inspired in my admiration for pattern from Op Art.

 

[Hermes2020]

A combined thank you to everyone for saying nice things. I think you are all surprised that I can also do bright and cheerful paintings and not just dark, sombre ones.