Arthur Golding’s prints are composed of hundreds of thousands of small blocks of flat, solid, bright color. Hues of maximum brightness are arranged in patterns to mix in the viewer’s eye. Gradients - incremental changes in hue - combine with the optical mixing to create a range of effects, including luminescence, unexpected since it results from viewing flat colors printed on paper. Tints, shades and pastels also appear, although no black or white is used in any image.

From a normal viewing distance, one sees the optically mixed colors and the grain of the color blocks simultaneously. On moving in, the color blocks become more apparent; on moving out, they dissolve and only the mixed colors are seen.

The image area of each print is 16” x 16” at 288 pixels per inch, sized to achieve ambiguity between seeing the small, hard-edged color blocks and the optically mixed colors they form. Images are printed on 22” x 22” archival paper with archival ink (detail below).

While the images are created digitally, their impact is clearest when seen on paper at full size. Color effects are maximized in the printed image, which is constant, unlike a screen image.