Thinking Soul Pictures Part 2

The exuberance of the work was their initial thrill, followed by their amazement at “ the dots “. It was “the dots “ that I enquired of first when I visited Bella.


“ The dots against the night sky represent the stars and planets, the others refer to the idea of particles. Whole things consist of combinations of particles; worlds, stars, planets and parts of each of them are linked by particles. So the dots are meant to suggest the whole idea of worlds within worlds, the constant reality of the inter-connectedness between all things, seen and unseen, known and not yet known. They also of course have been linked artistically to human beings expression of themselves since they first felt the need to do so.”

Bella went on to explain how the dots also have an artistic purpose in that on an optical level they affect the impression made upon the retina by the base colour in a way that is significantly different than if the colours were mixed on the palette and then placed upon the canvas. This way the colours blend together in the eye producing a vibration which the retina has to rapidly adjust to due to the different colour rays it’s trying to assimilate, this vibration is then transmitted to the brain.

The whole impression given by the paintings is that whole worlds exist within each picture. These worlds are microcosms of the world at large, everything within them hints of it, plants alter into butterflies which in turn hold fishes within their wings and insects rise from their bodies and on and on it goes.