One of Roy’s most famous pieces is Whaam! What was painted in 1963. He painted it using magna acrylic and oil paint on a 67 X 160-inch canvas (that’s huge). The idea of the painting was derived from his time in the army and a panel from a 1962 war comic book. When looking at the picture, you first notice the bright, bold colors. His color scheme is comprised of only primary and neutral colors.
His use of mostly neutral colors allows the areas of primary colors to stand out, highlighting the main focus-the explosion. This is what draws me to the piece, since the bright colors against the washed background catches your eye. The two planes in the painting also fall on the rule of thirds lines, being the two vertical ones. As with most pop art, there is not much going on in terms of value, except for the plane on the left. Also, the background is just a neutral gray, but I believe this was done to highlight the planes and the explosion. He creates a sense of depth by putting the plane on the left in the front by making it bigger and putting the exploding plane in the back to make is seem as though it is far away.
