Chairs Bicycle Abstract Ray Oltion

The chairs partially obscure the bicycle and create angular contrast to the more curvilinear shapes in the bicycle wheels and sprockets. The foreground objects have lots of shaped gradients to give the forms the illusion of rounded tubes, cylinders, and donuts.

The background copies those shapes and distorts them in a fractal pattern. There is also a hexagonal pattern in the background that resembles crocodile skin. You can see elements of the foreground objects repeated endlessly in distorted and diminished copies that appear to drain out of the picture in the corners.

The foreground objects have much higher color intensity and variation in hue, while the background is monochrome. This appears to be neutral, but in actuality is a low intensity green. This creates an overall color cast that forces the viewer to choose a new subjective neutral.

I wanted to work with a limited color palette that would create an overall mood. I also wanted to create a more abstract design, with realistic elements. There might be too much going on here, but it does keep the viewer engaged for a while.

Perhaps leaving the foreground objects more realistic provides some reference points and grounds the image, balancing the chaotic and bewildering shapes in the background. This is a different way of thinking about negative space, as there is almost more happening between the foreground objects than in those forms.