Untitled (From The Shapes of Colour) 1978

Patrick Heron made this screenprint, Untitled (From The Shapes of Colour), and it's all about the joy of process. I mean, look at those colours! The way he’s laid them down in these juicy, vertical stripes makes me think of the pure pleasure of applying paint to a surface. The texture is so key here. You can almost feel the drag of the squeegee across the screen, leaving these little imperfections and variations in colour. And that purple stripe – isn’t it gorgeous? It's not a flat, uniform colour. It’s got this depth and richness, like he layered it on, letting some areas be more saturated than others. Heron reminds me a little of Bridget Riley, but with a warmer, more playful sensibility. Both artists are masters of colour and composition, but Heron’s got this looseness, this willingness to embrace the unexpected. And that's what makes his work so engaging. There’s no right or wrong way to see it, just an invitation to dive in and experience the shapes and colours for yourself.