Saint Helices 78, 10" x 7" x 3/4", oil on plaster cast, 1998. Artist's collection.

While working on version 77 it occurred to me that the edges of sculptured surface (the result of raising and recessing elements of the composition) were also elements of the overall design which could be accentuated to participate in the design and concept of the work. After priming the cast I painted over the entire cast with a modulating diagonal passage of full spectrum colors--starting at the upper-left corner with violet and progressing through the spectrum in order--blue, green, yellow, orange, and finishing with red in the lower-right corner. The standard Saint Helices scheme was then applied over the pure color but only on the flat areas of the surface topography, thus leaving the edges of the raised and recessed areas to reveal an underlying visual scheme of pure color.