Responding to the Darkness Descending - Painting 1

Responding to the Darkness Descending – Painting 1

Oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm

For a time, I felt myself slipping into despair—the rise of populism, the world drifting back toward the divisions and mindsets of the 1930s.

Haven’t we learnt anything?

But then I realised: the only meaningful response I could make was not to mirror the darkness, but to resist it.

With colour.

With life.

With hope.

This is the first painting in a new series, Responding to the Darkness Descending.

It’s rooted in the belief that light will always rise to overcome shadow.

That hope can outlast despair.

That truth—not falsehood—will have the final word.

Frank Brennan, Responding to the Darkness Descending – Painting 1, oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm. An abstract composition of pulsing, concentric forms in red, yellow, pink, and green.

Close-up of the central yellow disc from Responding to the Darkness Descending – Painting 1 by Frank Brennan. Thick, textured brushwork radiates outwards in gold and ochre.

Close-up of a red and yellow zone from Responding to the Darkness Descending – Painting 1, with a green, flame-like motif emerging at the border.

Close-up of pink and magenta swirling brushstrokes from the upper left of Responding to the Darkness Descending – Painting 1. Dynamic, gestural marks in oil.

Close-up of the lower right quadrant from Responding to the Darkness Descending – Painting 1 by Frank Brennan. Textured pink and red circular energy radiates above a surge of green and blue brushwork.

Close-up detail from Responding to the Darkness Descending – Painting 1 by Frank Brennan, where the yellow core meets deep blue and purple shadow, heavily textured in oil.

Close-up of the lower left area of Responding to the Darkness Descending – Painting 1, showing energetic green and blue brushwork rising beneath a field of red.

About the Painting

This painting is highly textured—something that’s difficult to capture on screen. Up close, you’ll see the layers: the central yellow burst at the heart, with reds, pinks, greens, and blues swirling and colliding, never quite settling. Each area holds its own mood and tension—a gold core, a green flame, a vortex of pink and magenta, and the line where light meets shadow. Every mark is a decision, made in the studio, standing against the darkness.

Artwork Details