Radials
Radial in Rainbow / In Progress / Yao Cheng
I came across the idea of painting the Radials Collection while I was exploring movement. In particular, I was focused on a central point that then emanates outwards. I was in the middle of painting a new batch of abstract work when I had this idea. I found this to be a compelling challenge because a painting is static in its two-dimensional form. But to make something flat appear like it’s moving? That’s interesting.
Mixed into all of this was me painting versions upon versions for the Celestial Collection. So that was swirling in my brain as well, because I like to imagine clusters of gases in outer space to be exploding from a central place. While I know this is not scientifically accurate, I was reimagining the Celestial paintings from this point of view.
And so I set off on creating a few artworks for Radials. I tried out different layouts, but having a distinct center on the paper was where I think the emanating effect was the most effective.
Process
At some point in my painting retreats periods, I like to view them all together and see what is working versus what isn’t. In this batch of abstract work, I was considering which layouts worked the best.
Radial in Rainbow:
An early version. I took my time in creating all of the layers, making sure to mix a different color for each rectangle. And by limiting myself to one shape, I could just focus on shifting the colors. Painting one shape repeatedly relaxes me. In this version, I was focused on a radiating effect with shifts in color. I had not yet added the shift in scale of the rectangles that was in the final version of this painting.
“Painting one shape repeatedly relaxes me.”
Radial in Rainbow / In Progress / Yao Cheng
The painting on the above right is the final version. As you can see, I made a key improvement by increasing the size of the rectangles as it radiated outwards. This took some experimentation to see if it made the most sense to increase the size as it expands out or as it collapses in.
I also love this painting because it reminds me of the classic color wheel that is often in art classrooms. But rather than a chart where all of the colors are kept separate, the colors here are intentionally mixed into each other to create new colors. This creates a very interesting dynamic.
Radial in Rainbow
Want to purchase this art print? Even though it’s no longer in stock, you can order it as a custom print!
Radial in Rainbow / 30” x 40” Print / Yao Cheng Design
Radial in Pastel, Radial in Emerald / Completed / Yao Cheng
Radial in Pastel:
Other color ways for Radials came after the Rainbow version. Here, the idea is to further limit the color palette and see if the same effect of motion can still be achieved. What I like to do is to find color inspirations from different places, in unexpected ways. For Radial in Pastel, this color palette was pulled from my Color Board on Pinterest.
Radial Prints
You can order these watercolor prints from 8” x 10” to 44” x 60”.
Prints: Radial in Pastel, Radial in Ruby and Radial in Emerald.
This was a really fun collection that I hope to add more to in the future. Below is one that was not in the collection so far. Ultimately, I didn’t think this color combination was as successful as the rest. Still, there are so many other palettes to explore, so check back for more updates!
Radials / In Progress / Yao Cheng
