When we look at the hills of Earth, we see a sea of green. We’ve been taught since childhood that this is the color of life, fueled by the chlorophyll in every leaf and blade of grass. But when I sat down to paint my latest painting, Retinalis, I wanted to challenge that terrestrial bias.
I imagined a landscape not of a world like ours, but of a planet orbiting a dim, red dwarf star—a place where the rules of biology have taken a different, more violet turn.
The inspiration for the deep purples in Retinalis isn’t just a creative whim; it’s rooted in a compelling scientific theory known as the Purple Earth hypothesis.
Before chlorophyll became the dominant engine of life on Earth, some scientists believe our planet was inhabited by microbes that used a molecule called Retinal to harvest sunlight. While chlorophyll absorbs blue and red light (reflecting green), Retinal absorbs green light and reflects back red and violet light—creating a vibrant purple hue.
In Retinalis, I’ve visualized an exoplanet—perhaps one like LHS 1140 b, a super-Earth in the habitable zone of an M type dwarf star, where these purple pigments are the primary source of energy. Because dwarf stars emit light in different wavelengths than our yellow sun, Retinal-based life might actually be the most efficient way for “alien” plants to thrive.
To capture the alien nature of this world, I chose metallic acrylic paints. The shimmer of the metallic pigments allows the landscape to shift as you move past it, mimicking the way light might catch on thick, retinal-rich vegetation or alien mineral deposits.
However, the true secret of the painting is revealed when the lights go out.
I wanted to capture the “bioluminescence” of this alien ecosystem. In the dark, the trees and the winding river of Retinalis glow with an ethereal light. This represents the idea that on a planet with a dim sun, life might create its own light to communicate, lure prey, or simply survive the long violet nights.
Painting Retinalis was an exercise in “what if.” What if our own history had taken a different path? What if the “Pale Blue Dot” was actually a “Deep Purple Sphere”? By blending metallic textures with glow-in-the-dark elements, I hope to transport viewers to a landscape that feels grounded in science, yet remains undeniably alien.
National Geographic: Why alien life might look purple
Earth.com: Was early Earth a purple planet? Scientists say it’s possible
NASA Exoplanet Catalog: LHS 1140 b – A Potentially Rocky World