Genesis – Responding to the Darkness Descending

Responding to the Darkness Descending began in response to my sadness at the direction the world seems to be taking. Rather than try to paint the darkness I saw and felt directly, I wanted to answer it with paint, colour, life, beauty and hope.

Across the series, abstract forms begin to shift into more recognisable flowers and organic shapes. At times they are exuberant and full of life; at others they become darker, stranger or more threatening, before eventually moving back towards something quieter and more ambiguous.

Responding to the Darkness Descending

Frank Brennan, Responding to the Darkness Descending – Painting 1, vivid yellow, red and green abstract detail.

Responding to the Darkness Descending – Painting 1

Oil paint on canvas

Wide detail showing the deep-red concentric disc surrounded by yellow, pink, blue, green and red forms.

Responding to the Darkness Descending – Painting 2

Oil paint on canvas

Detail of Responding to the Darkness Descending – Painting 3, showing the central orange flower and red carnivorous flower-like forms.

Responding to the Darkness Descending – Painting 3

Oil paint on canvas

Visit Genesis – Reflections

“It is not the form that dictates the colour, but the colour that brings out the form.”

   Hans Hofmann