Mushroom Cloud has an unusual history. It began around 2016, then remained unfinished for nearly a decade.
The first marks were made with turmeric dissolved in hot water, dropped onto the paper to create irregular yellow stains. I added a hand-drawn mushroom, a series of dots connected like constellations, and an area of black India ink.
At the time, I had no clear idea where the composition was going, so I put it aside.
After completing Spaceship in September 2026, I returned to the unfinished piece and began looking at those early marks differently.
The black ink became the foundation of a crystal cave. I worked outward from the existing shapes, introducing new layers of watercolor, detailed linework, and imagined structures.
As the composition developed, the world of the Matrix Series expanded with it.
Three astronauts appear within the scene. One floats outside, while two occupy a small spacecraft. A space station suggests an emerging infrastructure and a broader environment beyond the confines of a single vessel.
The journey moves into unfamiliar territory, with new possibilities for exploration, connection and community.
What interests me most is that the earliest marks remain part of the finished work. Something begun almost ten years earlier had found its direction — one I couldn't have anticipated when I first put color on the paper.
Original Artwork Details
Begun circa 2016; completed October 2026, 18 × 24 inches, turmeric staining, India ink, watercolor, Micron pen, and markers on Strathmore 400 series watercolor paper
Fine Art Prints
Fine art reproduction of the original artwork. Each standard print is personally signed in pencil by Windy Bond and sold unframed.
Mushroom Cloud has an unusual history. It began around 2016, then remained unfinished for nearly a decade.
The first marks were made with turmeric dissolved in hot water, dropped onto the paper to create irregular yellow stains. I added a hand-drawn mushroom, a series of dots connected like constellations, and an area of black India ink.
At the time, I had no clear idea where the composition was going, so I put it aside.
After completing Spaceship in September 2026, I returned to the unfinished piece and began looking at those early marks differently.
The black ink became the foundation of a crystal cave. I worked outward from the existing shapes, introducing new layers of watercolor, detailed linework, and imagined structures.
As the composition developed, the world of the Matrix Series expanded with it.
Three astronauts appear within the scene. One floats outside, while two occupy a small spacecraft. A space station suggests an emerging infrastructure and a broader environment beyond the confines of a single vessel.
The journey moves into unfamiliar territory, with new possibilities for exploration, connection and community.
What interests me most is that the earliest marks remain part of the finished work. Something begun almost ten years earlier had found its direction — one I couldn't have anticipated when I first put color on the paper.
Original Artwork Details
Begun circa 2016; completed October 2026, 18 × 24 inches, turmeric staining, India ink, watercolor, Micron pen, and markers on Strathmore 400 series watercolor paper
Fine Art Prints
Fine art reproduction of the original artwork. Each standard print is personally signed in pencil by Windy Bond and sold unframed.
