Blue and Deep Violet with Orange, Brown and Green 1970

Patrick Heron made this print, “Blue and Deep Violet with Orange, Brown and Green”, and look at how those shapes just hang there! The whole thing feels very improvisational, like a jazz riff. You can almost see him deciding where each color should go as he worked. It's all about these flat planes of color bumping up against each other. The violet is dense, anchoring the composition, while that round, ultramarine blue shape almost floats above, tied to the violet ground by a quirky blue tendril. Then there’s the red, a kind of ‘C’ shape, which plays against the organic blobs around it. The colors vibrate against each other without mixing. I’m reminded of Matisse cut outs and I think this print shares a similar sense of playful, inventive abstraction. Ultimately, it's about the relationships between the colors and shapes, and how they create a dynamic, visual experience. It's a reminder that art is an ongoing conversation across time.