Story of the Piece: Through the Haze

At first glance, it appears almost black. But that is only the beginning.

Through the Haze began with an experiment — what would happen if the black itself could change?

Rather than a flat black ground, I created a specialty smoky matte surface that shifts with light and viewing angle. From some positions it appears deep and almost solid black. Move around it, and a soft, clouded haze begins to emerge across the surface.

The sculptural rainforest leaves behave differently again. Built by hand and layered with chameleon and specialty pigments, their greens, blues, purples and subtle flashes of gold appear and disappear as the light changes.

The contrast was deliberate: a quiet, smoky background against highly textured foliage that refuses to remain visually still.

Through the Haze is part of the continuing progression of Obsidian Worlds, where each work builds upon what I discovered in the one before it — new surfaces, new materials and new ways of using black, texture and light.

What appears black at first glance is rarely just black.