Distant Lands 2017

Rose Freymuth-Frazier made this oil painting, Distant Lands, with an interesting array of brushstrokes and colors. The paint is applied with visible, deliberate strokes, which almost seem to map an emotional geography. Looking closely, you can see how Freymuth-Frazier uses the physicality of the medium to create a sense of depth and movement. The texture is rich, the colors blend and contrast, and the surface has a tactile quality. The dark blues and purples in the middle ground create a sense of mystery, while the warm yellows and oranges in the sky evoke a feeling of hope. The small strokes in the foreground almost read as light on water, shimmering, full of life. Thinking about other painters who work in this gestural, expressive way, I am reminded of Joan Mitchell, another artist who was able to convey emotion and atmosphere through the handling of paint. Like Mitchell, Freymuth-Frazier shows us that art is not just about representation, it's about feeling, about experience, and about embracing the ambiguity of the world around us.