Caliban’s Dream

Where the name came from

The name of the painting is taken from a song written by Underworld founder Rick Smith and was played at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. For me it’s a moment in time I will always remember and I have long been a fan of the music of Underworld (who can forget the iconic ‘Born Slippy’ from the Trainspotting soundtrack?). Caliban’s Dream was quite a departure for the duo that mnake up the band but one that has become inextricably linked to them.

So it seemed a natural thing to name a painting after this dream-like piece of music (eventually!) and this one seemed most fitting. There’s a poetic flow to the whole piece that feels like I am riding on endless waves of tranquility and peace. The repeating colorful waves in the painting remind me of the way the track is layered.

Among the words that are sung there are a couple of lines that really stick in my mind “And the nations come to greet us, waving open arms like waves of golden corn” is but one. It’s a truly beautiful thing to listen to.

How the painting was created

The painting was borne from a spin table session that saw me using a series of multi colored pouring cups that contained four individual colors in each one. If that’s a tricky to imagine in your mind then click on the video below and watch me create this painting. We streamed it live during one of my Wednesday night broadcasts and it was pretty amazing to say the least.

This painting starts ate around 37 minutes in so either scroll to that point or hit the link above to take you there. Of note is me losing the plot at 46 minutes in after I get amused by the phrase “BIG JUGS”…

One of the standout things about the painting is the color choice. Those combinations of magenta lime green ,orange, yellow and turquoise is a powerful one and it all gets offset by the depth of the red and orange background. The paint is literally cascading in wave upon wave. In he video you can see exactly how these waves were created as I poured them from the cups.

I also feature two other original paintings in the video – That’s Life and Seaside on the Moon.

What became of the spins has resulted in these psychedelic zig zag lines that become almost hypnotic the longer you stare at them. It was a leap into the unknown as I had no idea what was about to happen but I am very pleased to say it was a painting that turned out worthy enough to carry such an important name.