Stanley Donwood just posted some hints of what's to come on his website. Stay tuned for more about his U.S. premiere opening September at FIFTY24SF Forgive me if you've heard some of this before. This starts in L.A. I found myself there once, trying to make artwork. It was the first time I had been to the west coast of America. Part of the massive scale of Los Angeles involves the many advertising materials employed along the multilane highways that dissect the built environment. I was in the car with my notebook, and for something to do I was writing down what all these signs and advertisements had to say. I realised that they only used a very few colours, and the colours were bold, brash, and used in very visually compelling combinations. About ninety per cent of the messages that flicked past my retinas were using seven colours. I noted these colours down; red, green, blue, yellow, orange, black and white. All, I think, made from pigments derived from the petrochemical industry, the same hydrocarbon trade that has made modern Los Angeles possible. The colours were red, green, blue, yellow, orange, black and white. I decided to paint using these colours, straight from the tub. This was some time ago, back in 2003, I think.

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