A skull‚ painted in pthalo greens and blues‚ with a rich Ultramarine background.
The brushwork is a contest between sharp‚ dynamic strokes‚ and areas of soft blending.
The deep blue background has four layers of Ultramarine Blue (and one of Capitol Blue)‚ with some pthalo green. The many semi-transparent layers create a very luxurious result.
The softer blue/green line across the bottom of the canvas evokes both the skull's shadow‚ and the hint of a jaw.
'Grand Guignol' refers to the over-the-top horror theatre of 20th century Paris.