Juno and the Paycock is a joyous celebration of colour. The circular composition serves to bring the eye continually back into the exuberant abstract imagery. Gillian Ayres’s works were all named by friends and family after they were produced. The title of this work, Juno and the Paycock, references the play of the same title by Seán O’Casey. The word ‘paycock’ is the Irish pronunciation of peacock and the top left imagery in this print resembles the patterning of peacock feathers.