Saint Helices 80, 12" x 9", watercolor, 1999. Artist's collection.

This version (and version 81) is a foray into a new method for rendering the upper- and lower-central areas of the composition as a series of undulating wave forms. The "point-quadrant-grid" star pattern devised in version 73 takes on a more involved and dominant character than in the preceding version. This watercolor is distinct from all previous Saint Helices watercolors in that I chose to leave the edges of the composition to fade into the margins of the watercolor paper itself. Elements such as color-test brush strokes, a color wheel diagram, and masking-fluid tests are all left in tact as an added conceptual element of this version. These extraneous marks left in the margins of the central composition are physical evidence of decisions made while creating the work, so I felt they related to the central composition in a conceptually intriguing, and, aesthetically pleasing manner.