‘Chameleonesque’ Colour
Having worked with iridescent ’pigment’ technology from its inception (circa1999), it took Schenk several years to gain a basic understanding of the optical principles involved and transform the raw material, a grey powder, into a medium suitable for painting.
By 2004 the she was finally ready to introduce the new technology into her work. While artist in residence at the National Marine Aquarium Plymouth, the cuttlefish began to fascinate her. Perpetually metamorphosing, this ‘Chameleon of the Sea’ - features a continuously changing display of kaleidoscopic colour, pattern and texture. In an instant, waves of colour can flow across its entire body, changing hue from maybe green to purple and back again - a dynamic flow of oscillating colour never seen in painting.
Here colour is so sophisticated that it equals, if not surpasses, that of our digital age. In loose analogy to a television screen, cuttlefish skin contains individually adjustable ‘sub-dots’/cells. These cells are (chemical) primary-colour-units that switch on (expand) and switch off  (contract), or remain in between, thus (in combination) assuming any colour desired via optical mixing. In addition, iridescent ‘mirror’ cells reflect colours from the surroundings.

But how can one ‘represent’ such an elusive creature in painting? With colour-variable hues now on Schenk’s palette, meticulous and time-consuming research eventually led to a triptych, ‘representing’ the cuttlefish in its many guises. The desired ‘chameleonesque’ effect was achieved. The resulting paintings fluctuate in perceived colour, depending both on light variation and the angle of vision.