Artist Anoka Faruqee accomplishes impressive illusions of movement in her series of Moir paintings. She uses a notched, comb-like trowel to produce the graphic, abstract lines that overlap in unexpected patterns, taking special care to select acrylic colors that will blend well together on the linen panels.
Though each final product seems like it could be experimental in nature, there is a sense of order within the seeming disorder. The paths of paint follow purposeful arrangements through which the eye will wander. Faruqee avoids perfection, though, allowing a slip of the hand or an untaped edge to create unique flaws within the final product.
Faruqee explains, “While optical painters have sometimes eliminated such ‘imperfections’ as visual distractions, these physical ‘slips’ can rather augment the optical when used pointedly.”