Back in those days, we got some of our 'art supplies' down on Shakedown St., and on a particular evening, a few of us artists decided to goof around with some fluorescent paint.
We used black poster boards, a 'blacklight' fluorescent bulb, paint, and some 'funny paper' (blotter acid with little skeletons if I recall) and started painting.
One of the psychonauts grabbed three brushes at once, and twisted a quick brushstroke across a board haphazardly. The result got our attention, as the blue paint appeared to be in the foreground, the green in the middle, and orange came to rest as the background.
The blue seemed to stand out from the board with a 3D effect that none of us had expected, and the orange strand actually appeared to be 'behind' the green middle.
We stared at it for a long time. Was it the acid creating this illusion, the blacklight paint, or a combination?
Years later, I tried to reproduce the effect, but without the fluorescents, and without the acid. The result is below.
source @therealpaul oil on canvas panel
Yeah... must have been the acid.
Please comment below if you can explain the effect, or have any ideas about it, I'd love to hear.
Great job it's beautiful.
Thank you