This experimental work—Macdonald’s first semi-abstract painting—marks the beginning of his search to express the underlying principles of nature in art through the study of science, mathematics, and philosophy.

In his classes he quoted French modernist painter Amédée Ozenfant (1886–1966): “A flower is no longer one of nature’s smiles . . . but magnetic waves directed along certain axes, so rapid that they become matter, colour.” By magnifying a flower and painting only parts of it, Macdonald broke free from representation.