By time she did this painting Cossington Smith had moved beyond her early art training with Dattilo Rubbo. She recalled that while her art teacher was concerned about depth in representing a scene, she had become more interested in depicting radiating, concentric forms in luminous colour. As she said: ‘In those days I saw things as a pattern expressed in colour. It was quite a natural thing. I didn’t force myself to do it … I believe you’ve got to have a feeling about what you want to paint. It’s half unconscious, but you do know what you don’t want to do’. (Interview with Alan Roberts, 1970)