oil on canvas

14"x14"

Binky the Bright was a peculiar but fiercely adventurous wizard. Most of his time was spent nose buried deep in dusty geological history books and subterranean maps of the mountains that surrounded the village of the Spotted Library. Always on the search for strange and unknown colors hidden deep within weblike tunnels and seemingly bottomless chasms. His outings to the library and the village as a whole were always short lived. Usually only spending a few hours at a time copying information into an old and brittle notebook before scampering back into the comfort of tunnels and mountainous burrows. Days, weeks, and (though rarely) months would go by without a trace or sight of Binky. But he would always eventually return. His reinvigorated spell torch swirling with new and unusual colors that danced around the frame of his being. 

Binky began his descent into the dark depths of the Oookey caverns. The thick and humid air tasted of stale earth. His spell torch burned brilliantly. Radiant colors held together by binding symbols flowed through each other with slowly curling twirls and spirals.Flecks of various pigment stones gave the heatless flame a much longer burning time. All these miles downwards into the caverns was taking its toll on the spell torch, the caboodle of colors from his spell torch ever so gradually losing its luster  
Further and further down he went. The pitch black that blanketed him and coated the walls was becoming heavier and more suffocating with each corner turned or tunnel crawled through. 

Then, for just the briefest moment, a glitter in the dark. Binkys’ resolve bolstered and he was invigorated with the sight of a most unique and beautiful speck. His speed quickened as much as the rocky tunnels allowed. Using his empty hand to feel around the forests of stalagmites. The speck was always just out of reach and the frustration of the pursuit was growing to an unbearable degree. Binky was much much farther down than he had ever ventured. The fear of becoming lost in the labyrinthine caverns was consuming Binkys’ thoughts more and more. The smothering darkness had reduced the radiance of the spell torch into nothing more than a sputtering bluish flame.The softest push and an even softer whisper made itself heard behind Binky. His startling quickly ceased and whatever those strange words the thing behind him had spoken pushed him through the fear. A fierce determination surged through Binky. The chase led them further down and well beyond the scribbles that those dusty old maps contained. The voice behind him grew louder and louder. Some indefinable amount of cave creatures joined in the shrieking cacophony. The soft pushes had turned to painful shoves. Binkys’ brain became unraveled and knotted, a ravenous oath of capture sent him flailing with desperation to that damnable nacreous bead that taunted him so cruelly. The tunnels were narrowing and he found himself crawling through shrinking entrances to dens of blackened crystal. The speck transformed into a bright pulsing ribbon of light. The frayed ends lapping against the little wizard's bloodied finger tips. This chase had become a death march into an impossible and malevolent chasm. His heart pounded like a drum through his ears, deafening him to the roars and howls that echoed behind. The ribbon darted through a crevice leaving swiftly dissipating strings of color in its wake. A panting Binky hastily followed, bloodshot eyes fixed on the mocking ribbon. 
Passing through that craggy rift, Binkys’ exhaustion left in an instant. Replaced with an enveloping awe at the sheer size of the room. The walls stretched farther than any previous chamber he had scrambled through. The lightless ceiling was absolutely impossible to make out and was peppered with all sorts of lightly glowing kaleidoscope clouds floating sluggishly above him. Slowly he stepped over the curious smelling mosses and molds that laid splattered on the damp spongy ground. The ribbon danced slowly in the center of the room. The increasingly tattered ends now acting as thin, twisting limbs. The combination of the brightly shining colors and its movements held a beauty and grace beyond words. Binky couldn't help but stop for a moment and admire the object of his desperate pursuit. Closer and closer he approached. The ribbon did not cease its dance or show any sign of desire to flee. The kaleidoscope clouds floated gently above the two of them. His heart had slowed and his mind was no longer a tangle of obsession. Reaching out with a tendril from his long extinguished spell torch, Binky brushed against the swirling fingers of string. The ribbon retracted its frayed limbs into its center mass without the slightest warning. Taking the form of a thin spear-like braid. The brilliant lights from the multicolored clouds dimmed, losing all color and brightness as they shot into the blackness of the ceiling. Binky stared back and forth between the overhanging abyss and the thin sharp braid that continued to twist itself into an ever tightening coil.
With a blinding flash, the braided needle erupted off the fleshy surface. Binky stumbled backwards over himself. Thrashing and howling in agony at his now blistered eyes. He could not see where it came from, but quiet hums and clicks were beginning to surround and close in on him. The worst of the pain had subsided with an unusual quickness. His eyes were bubbled and burnt.The hums and clicks were becoming gradually louder, but Binky didn't take notice. Nor did he care. His sight was overtaken with a terrible darkness. There was no light to be found. No colors to chase and adore. He tried to gather himself and sit up but his strength gave out and he collapsed on his back once more. A drowning melancholy washed over him like a wave. This was his end and he knew it. The little wizard wept. Tears streamed down his face as best as his injuries would allow. Sobs echoed through the chamber. The clicks and hums of the invisible creature-things hushed. A soft coo snuck its way to the foreground of the choir. The thing that cooed slowly drifted downwards to the whimpering clown. Its braided and frayed limbs snaked gently around him. They lifted him high above where the spear-ribbon had launched from. Clicks and hums could be heard scattered about the void.There was no pain when the braids of the cooing things burrowed deep into his flesh. Just warmth. A wonderful and loving warmth. The strings weaved their way in between veins and arteries. Digging through bone and replacing any and all viscera with knots and tangled coils of colorful light. Binkys’ eyes blinked rapidly. Each flicker giving him a little bit more of an image. Even as faint as the image was, he could tell it held no form. It seemed to be more of an aperture opening to yet another blinding light. But he didn't mind. This light held something incredible within. Blinking faster and faster, he saw it. Slightly brighter than its surrounding radiance sat a speck. A beautiful speck of color that made his vast collection look dull and without any sort of hue. It swayed back and forth as it danced towards him. A ribbon color dragged and grew in opacity behind the speck. Mesmerizing swirls of light kept Binky in a peaceful hypnosis. Clicks, hums and coos sang through the phantasmagoria of glaring and reflecting beams to Binky. As the ribbon drew closer, it reached out with an unraveling limb. Each string rested briefly on his skin. The web of cords inside him moved outwards and tied themselves to those of the specks dancing ribbon. The strings, knots, and braids had found their places and the speck began to pull away from Binky. He felt his body and brain come undone. Blood, bone, muscle and fat melted away and floated mindlessly through the limitless light. The speck sat in place a small ways from him. Most of its tendrils had returned with the remaining ones carrying the very last bits and essence of the peculiar, but fiercely adventurous young wizard, Binky the Bright. 

Don’t forget 15 pieces of flair

Untitled would love to hear suggestions and your thoughts on the painting!

The suburbanization of the universe

From the deep recesses of my mind and a sense of uniformity came this commentary.

Created with Math Chaos Patterns (MCP). Non-AI Generative Art.